


The Way You Turn My World

by MemoryDragon



Category: Labyrinth (1986), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Age Difference, All characters over 18, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Labyrinth Fusion, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Big Bang, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Dwarf Clint Barton, Fairy Natasha Romanov, Friendship, Gen, Glitter, Goblin King Steve Rogers, Less stalkery than the original movie, Loki is a villain, Ludo Hulk, M/M, Magic, Marvel Universe Big Bang 2016, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Non-Consensual Drug Use, POV Tony Stark, Same as the original movie basically, Shape Shifter Sam Wilson, Slightly Creepy Stalker Steve, Squirrel Thor, T'Challa's just badass and visits the goblins cause he's got his own country to run, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Hates Magic, Tony Stark in that really terrible Vest, Who was asked to protect Tony from Hydra, and mazes, but still, elements from IM1 and Winter Soldier, so much glitter, team fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:36:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 66,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8450179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryDragon/pseuds/MemoryDragon
Summary: After the death of Tony's parents, Director Carter of SHIELD has left him a mysterious message and a warning.  Captured by Hydra and afraid for his friend's lives, Tony speaks the words on the paper she gave him.  "I wish the goblins would come and take me away right now!"





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Avengers movie-verse, nor do I make any claim to. Same goes for the plot of the movie The Labyrinth.  
>  **Warnings:** Slightly creeper relationship, but much less so than the original movie (he was asked to watch over the Starks because Hydra was targeting them, but Tony had no idea). I aged up Tony to 18 when his parents died, but there's still some age differences going on here. PTSD and torture, but non-graphic and pretty much what you got in IM1, but with teen Tony. Tony does get a drugged up amnesia peach that does about the same thing as the movie, but has no lasting effects. Slight dub con kiss due to said peach, but Steve puts a hold on kissing as soon as he gets over the fact that Tony is kissing him. And there's glitter. So much glitter.  
>  **Rating:** T  
>  **Thanks:** Many thanks to narwhale_callin for actually getting this back to me quickly! Color me shocked and surprised! I didn't take all of your suggestions this time, even though I do agree you're right, but, well, this fic. I appreciate that you gave them. XD Thanks as well to my artist, TowerOawesome, for sticking with me and making such lovely art!
> 
>  **Notes:** I'm never doing another AU. Ugh. But this fic is finally finished and here you are. This was written for the 2016 Marvel Universe Big Bang and has some fantastic art by [TowerOawesome](http://toweroawesome.deviantart.com/), which you can find [over here](http://toweroawesome.deviantart.com/gallery/60845818/The-Way-You-Turn-My-World-Art). Go check it out and leave some lovely comments!
> 
> All of the warnings from the original movie apply, though most of them to a lesser extent. As mentioned, Steve is stalking Tony because he's a target of Hydra and was asked to by SHIELD. It's still a bit creepy, but Tony doesn't mind that much in the long run. Drugged peach happens, and Tony's IM1 torture is non-graphic, but it does happen when he's a teen now, so keep in mind your comfort levels. Also, I did age Tony up to 18 when his parents died, so there's no underage (it's all kissing too, regardless of what Tony thought he saw Rhodey getting up to), but you have a weird timeline where Steve is still from the 1940s and has been awake even if time moves differently over there, so age difference. Same goes for Sam and Natasha's interest in Rhodey, though Rhodey is a year older than Tony.
> 
> I basically said fuck the timeline completely, so Peggy was Steve's fling in the 60s, Nick Fury is currently the Deputy Director under her, Wanda joined the goblin Avengers just recently, and everyone else is kind of scattered throughout history and joining sometime after Steve became the Goblin King. **Loki is a villain in this fic**. Laura Barton is Clint's wife. If either of these are not your thing, please backspace now.
> 
> Please be aware that while Steve/Tony is there, it is also very far from the main focus of this fic. So if you're looking for an epic romance au, this is probably not it, sorry. ^.^;;;
> 
> Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the fic! Make sure you check out the art!

Tony stared at the graves, knowing he should be feeling something. His parents were dead, but all he felt was empty.

He knew the press was snapping photos. He didn't care. They'd been running stories about Stark Industries double dealing weapons for a whole month up to his parents' deaths, and now they couldn't stop talking about what a great man his father had been. He was surprised that no one had come up and asked him for a statement yet, but he was glad of it. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, because he wasn't sure if he'd cry or scream. His bet would have been on the latter.

He stayed there, eyes never leaving the names on the tombstones until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Then he finally took in his surroundings, noticing that most people had gone, probably to the reception. There was a big white owl on one of the graves a little ways off, and Tony shivered at the sight of it, like a ghost staring at him from places that Tony didn't believe in.

"How you holding up?" Rhodey asked, turning his attention away from the owl.

' _They're dead_ ,' Tony wanted to say. He didn't, however. He didn't react when Rhodey pulled him into a proper hug either.

"Tony?"

"You didn't have to come," Tony said finally. He didn't know most of the people at the funeral. There was Obie, who was probably going to run the company now. Pepper, who helped run his mother's charities and never noticed Tony's pathetic crush on her, though she was always kind to him. A few people who may have visited his father when he was younger, but he didn't remember their names. Other than that, it was mostly the press and people Tony had never met.

Rhodey, on the other hand, had never even met Tony's parents despite the countless invitations MIT had sent them to come see Tony's latest work on display. Why would his parents come if he wasn't making weapons, after all? But Rhodey had been there when Tony had gotten the call from the police, both of them being too young to really be going to college and getting put together as roommates. He hadn't really left Tony's side since then, despite missing class to fly out to New York with Tony.

He ducked his head as Rhodey ruffled his hair, finally looking up to scowl at Rhodey. "My professors and my CO understand, and I took all my finals before we left," Rhodey said. "Besides, you've got me worried here. All you've done is stand here and stare."

Tony shrugged. "I never saw them that much to begin with. I think it's the longest I've seen them together in two years?"

"I know," Rhodey said, hugging him a bit tighter. Tony didn't reply to that and he felt more than he heard Rhodey's sigh. "Tony-"

"You are Howard's son?" a female voice with a British accent asked.

They both looked up, startled to see a woman who had to be well into her sixties. She was probably older than Tony's father, but not by too much. She wore a black suit and skirt, her hair pulled back into a severe bun that matched her no-nonsense expression, and she wore a hat that was slightly cocked to the side. Tony thought she looked familiar, but she wasn't on the board of directors. There was a much younger and taller black man behind her with a sharp, but singular eye wearing a well-tailored suit and a long jacket.

Rhodey pulled Tony back against him protectively, and Tony went passively, too tired to fight if Rhodey was going to go alpha male protective on him when Tony didn't need protecting. It explained why there were no reporters though, if Rhodey had been hovering. "And you are?" Rhodey asked.

Tony was prepared to ignore everyone and go back to staring at the graves, but she thrust her hand at him in a way he couldn't ignore. He shook it curiously. "Peggy Carter, Director of SHIELD, and this is Deputy-Director Nick Fury," she said. "Which you probably haven't heard of. I worked with your father a long time ago. You have my condolences."

Tony looked down, but before he could pull his hand away, he felt something being pressed into it. He looked back up in surprise, but Director Carter didn't react beyond a brief flick of her eyes to acknowledge it. "I... wasn't that close to them," Tony said finally as he shoved his hands into his pockets once she let go. It felt like a folded paper, and there was approval in her eyes that stopped him from asking any questions.

"I'm aware," Director Carter said. "It's unfortunate. You deserved much better than what they gave you."

Rhodey relaxed beside him, but Tony just felt more confused. No one ever said he deserved better than Howard and Maria Stark. Half the people at this funeral had already told him how _lucky_ he was to have such a giant as a father.

Director Carter's expression softened. "Howard was a great many things, but he also had a great many faults. Being a father fell in the latter, I'm afraid. It's alright to mourn both of them despite their faults."

And just like that, the empty ache within Tony quickly filled with anger and grief that blind-sided him. "Why should I?" he snapped, only Rhodey's hand on his shoulder keeping him from shouting and alerting anyone who still hadn't left for the reception. "He never cared about me! So how come I-"

He was cut short by Director Carter hugging him tightly. "Because it's not for him, my darling, but for you. And for what it's worth, he did love you. Though why he never could tell you or show you is a curse you'll have to come to terms with. Keep a brave heart, Tony," she said, just above a whisper. "But you can't make a scene here. We have reason to believe you're in danger."

"What?" Tony asked in shock.

"Brave heart, Tony. We will protect you the best we can," she said before pulling away. Tony felt rocked to the core, his eyes going wide.

She looked to Rhodey, taking him in. "You're his friend?" she asked.

Rhodey pulled away enough to stand up straighter. "James Rhodes, Ma'am," he said hesitantly.

"Reports say that you start just as much trouble as he does," the man with the eyepatch said, speaking for the first time and startling both of them. He had an amused air about him that belied his next words. "And that ain't a compliment, son. The science building doesn't need more holes in the roof due to make-shift rockets."

"Hey!" Tony said, taking offense on Rhodey's behalf. "The roof was leaking anyway!"

"Trouble finds you both, no doubt," Director Carter said with a hint of laughter. "And he's lying. I know we both look forward to seeing your future escapades. But Tony could really use a friend right now, so take care of him, airman."

"Yes, Ma'am," Rhodey said as Tony groaned. He did not need more prompting with his alpha protector act.

And Tony should be protesting, because he was eighteen, damn it, and Rhodey was only a year older than him. He didn't need to be taken care of. But Director Carter had brought down the reality of everything, and someone was trying to hurt him? His shoulders shook once, then he turned away, his head ducked as tears pricked at his eyes. Stark men don't cry. Dad - _Howard_ \- wouldn't have ever wanted to see him cry, the bastard. But he couldn't stop and-

He was pulled into another hug by Rhodey, and Tony felt even worse for messing up his dress uniform, but he couldn't _stop_.

He couldn't stop.

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur. Tony didn't remember much of the reception, though he knew he eventually went. The only thing that got through his haze was Pepper, who - among the sea of people telling him how great his dad was - was the only one to mention his mother. He fell a little bit more in love with her for that, as she pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek, telling him she'd help him however she could.

Rhodey only grudgingly left his side once they got back to the mansion. He repeatedly said he'd be just down the hall if Tony needed anything, not that Tony would ask. He hated needing things. He'd been self-sufficient since he moved to Boston, fixing things around the dorms for money until he got together enough for a few patents. He didn't need his parents or anyone else, not when he could take care of himself. So he shouldn't be this upset now that they were gone, and he certainly didn't need Rhodey's hug no matter how much he missed it.

Tony sat on his bed, staring blankly at the floor. He wanted a drink, but Rhodey had been very adamant that Tony wasn't touching alcohol for at least a week. He resented that just a little, but it was probably a good idea given the extra press. He was enough of a disappointment to his family that he didn't need to give the paps fuel the day of the funeral.

That didn't stop the desire to drink though.

He hadn't changed out of his suit yet, but he turned the light out so that only the moon shining through the window allowed him to see. He didn't need the light, or anything else really. He'd been on his own for a while now and it wasn't like his relationship with his parents had ever been good. Tony curled his fist in frustration as he sat down on the bed.

He _shouldn't_ be this upset over things, no matter what Director Carter said. But he couldn't stop himself from thinking. Now he'd never get Howard Stark's approval. He'd never see his mother smile again. Both of those were out of his reach and-

Tony startled at the loud noise, yelping as he looked around. It was coming from the window, and he stood to get a better view. At first he saw nothing. The noise had stopped, and there was nothing outside the window that looked like it could have made that noise. He was on the second floor so it couldn't have been _someone_ and it had been short, but not short enough to be someone throwing something at the window.

He yelped again as something large and white attacked the window. Tony backed away, tripping over his tool box that he'd left carelessly on the floor before the funeral, and fell. He hissed in pain as his ass hit the floor, but his ego was more bruised than his tailbone.

Tony looked back at the window. Whatever it was, it was fast. Tony could barely see the blurred white wings. He took a step towards the window, but the movement out of the corner of his eyes forced him to spin around.

Nothing was there. The white - bird? - started attacking his window again. He jumped as something slithered across his feet, but again, when he looked down, nothing was there.

His bathroom door banged shut, then opened again and Tony kept seeing these _things_ out of the corner of his eye, horrible, grotesque things that were gone before he could catch more than a glimpse. And the awful noise from the window-

He heard the door open again, but not his bathroom door. It was the one from the hall. Tony spun around, his eyes wide as he tried to catch his breath.

Rhodey stood in the doorway, back-lit by the light spilling in. "Tony?" he asked. "Are you - holy shit!"

"They're everywhere!" Tony said, trying to run from the room.

He collided into Rhodey, who caught him and held him steady for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. "Hey, hey. Take it easy, man."

Tony felt Rhodey's arms tighten around him as he started to tremble. "It's okay," Rhodey murmured, rubbing Tony's back. "It's just an owl. A really big-ass owl. I think it's stopped now though."

"What?" Tony asked, turning back to see. Sure enough a white owl was flying away. "But there were others. Something else was in-"

"Is everything alright?" the butler asked. Paul? He hadn't been home much since Jarvis's heart attack, and his mind was too scattered to remember the new man's name.

"No worries. I got this," Rhodey said, waving the man off. Tony could hear him muttering about hysterical children, and the way Rhodey's hand stilled for a moment, he'd heard it too.

"I'm not hysterical," Tony said as Rhodey flipped on the light switch. He looked around the now well-lit room, which looked perfectly ordinary. There were no monsters in the shadows waiting to leap out at him. "I know they were there!"

"Okay," Rhodey said, but Tony could tell he didn't believe him. "Why are you still in your suit? I thought you'd gone to bed hours ago."

"I'm not imagining things," Tony insisted.

"Not saying you were," Rhodey said, a little too quickly. "But I thought you were going to _sleep_ , Tony. Why are you...?"

He didn't meet Rhodey's eyes as his hands turned into fists. "I'm not imagining it," he said stubbornly.

Rhodey sighed. "Okay," he repeated. "That owl was kinda freaky, so why don't you get some PJs on and stay in my room for the night."

"I'm not a kid who's afraid of the dark!" Tony said, pushing Rhodey away. He went back over to his bed and sat down, kicking off his shoes as he ignored Rhodey's sigh.

"Never said you were," Rhodey said. "But _I_ wouldn't want to sleep where that huge owl could wake me up again."

Rhodey was humoring him. Tony shoved his hands into his pockets as he prepared to tell Rhodey where he could shove his pity. Then his fingers brushed over the paper Director Carter had given him.

"What's wrong?" Rhodey asked sharply when the expected tantrum didn't come.

Tony pulled out the paper, unfolding it. He read the words silently, then shook his head. "Director Carter gave this to me. I guess I forgot about it, but it doesn't make sense."

Raising an eyebrow, Rhodey accepted the paper as Tony passed it over. The first half was normal enough. It was a simple 'Should you need us...' with Director Carter's and Deputy-Director Fury's numbers. The second part, however...

"Don't say this out loud unless in a real emergency?" Rhodey read. "Well, I'm with you on it not making sense. Wishing for anything in an emergency won't help much, much less for, well, that. Maybe it's some kind of code?"

"Don't look at me. I don't believe in that kind of stuff," Tony scoffed. Whatever had been in his room earlier, it probably had been his imagination now that he was thinking clearer. They couldn't have been...

"Why would that lady give you this? She worked with your father, right? SHIELD is some government agency, I think. I keep hearing about it, at least when my COs are talking, but it's all pretty hush-hush. So why'd she give it to you?"

"She said I was in danger," Tony said with a shrug.

That was the wrong thing to say.

"What? Tony, what did she mean?" he demanded.

"It's just what she said, sugar plum. She didn't say anything- Hey!"

"PJs, _now_ ," Rhodey said, pushing Tony towards the closet. "Then you're staying in my room."

"I'm _fine_ ," Tony stressed. "I don't need to be babied and I'm not afraid of the dark."

"No, but you saw things moving in here," Rhodey said, looking around suspiciously. "And if someone from SHIELD is saying you're in danger-"

"Why would anyone want to hurt me anyway?" Tony asked.

Rhodey threw Tony a look that even at his most socially inept, Tony couldn't miss. "Besides the football team," Tony amended.

"They wouldn't bully you so much if you didn't keep aggravating them," Rhodey said sternly, though Tony could see a hint of a smile that Rhodey couldn't hide. Whatever. Rhodey loved Tony's pranks as much as Tony did, he just pretended to be more responsible.

"You just inherited a lot of money," Rhodey continued. "And if someone from the government says you're in danger, I'd believe them. Come on. It'll be just like when you crash at my dorm despite the fact we've had singles since junior year."

"Fine," Tony said grudgingly, grabbing his pajamas and muttering darkly as he was pulled along by Rhodey. It wasn't until he curled up in Rhodey's bed that he finally relaxed.

The rest of the day hit him hard. Tony closed his eyes as his shoulders hitched. "Rhodey, I..."

"I know," Rhodey said, slipping next to Tony and hugging him tight. Like this Tony could imagine they weren't in New York anymore, but back in the one place that felt like home. Rhodey's dingy little dorm room that he kept as clean as he could, but still with no couch or any where else for a visitor to sleep, that was where home was after Jarvis died. He never realized how much of that was Rhodey instead of the place itself. "You're an idiot," Rhodey continued with a hint of a smile in his voice, "but it's been a long day, so I forgive you. Now get some sleep, genius."

If Tony cried again, Rhodey never mentioned it.

* * *

The next day, Rhodey was trying to convince Tony to come home with him for Christmas, promising his mother wouldn't mind. Tony didn't know what he was going to do for the holidays. He had stayed at school last year, working on a project, but now...

Rhodey's family seemed a bit daunting. Tony wasn't sure what to do with a family that actually cared.

For now though, he forced himself not to mess with his tie, even when he wanted to loosen it. He tried to remember all the things his father would do to act commanding. He clutched at the paper in his hands and felt a little sick at the notion of copying Howard, but he didn't have any other tools to use. It wasn't even a day after the funeral and _this_ was the top story. "We can't let this keep happening!" he said, throwing down the newspaper with the photos of Stark weapons in the hands of terrorists on the front page. "It's not even the direction I want to work in, Obie. We can go into something else, but we can't keep making weapons if they're going to terrorists!"

Obie leaned back in his chair, completely at ease. Tony wondered if he was doing commanding wrong. "And all I'm saying is to give it time, kid," Obie said. "You've got four years before you can take over the company. We do what you want, and we'll be running the company into the ground before you're old enough to vote."

"That's why I want to _start_ shutting it down now, instead of all at once," Tony said, switching tactics and trying for reasonable. "I want to focus on robotics. There's plenty of applications for-"

"No one's going to buy that creepy robotic arm of yours, boy," Obie said with a frown.

"Dummy's not creepy!" Tony said defensively. "And I can make a lot more than a helper bot. I can also make things that aren't-"

"Still wouldn't make as much money as military contracts," Obie said patiently. "A company doesn't just do what the CEO wants, kid. We've got a duty to the share-holders too. Not to mention the jobs we would have to cut."

Biting his lip, Tony looked down. He didn't want people to lose their jobs, but he had no desire to keep making weapons either. "Again, it wouldn't be all at once. We can give them training for other things or recommendations and plenty of time to find another job if they still want to work with what they know. But I want to work on-"

"Tony, Tony, Tony," Obie said, standing up. He came around the table and put an arm around Tony's shoulders. "You have to trust me on this, kiddo. We'll find out who's double dealing and make sure they get behind bars. Why don't you sleep on things and I'll show you some of the good those contracts do."

Tony's shoulders slumped and he looked down. He heard Obie sigh heavily. "I know you've had a lot of stress with the funeral lately. I heard about those night terrors you saw last night."

Tony flushed in shame. "I didn't-"

"No need to explain yourself to me, boy," Obie said dismissively. "But you're too emotional to be making those kinds of decisions right now. We'll talk later when you've calmed down."

"I'm not... I know what I'm doing! People are getting _hurt_ because of Stark Industries!" Tony said stubbornly. Just because he'd been scared made no difference in his decision or the lives that had already been lost. How had Obie even heard about that? Rhodey wouldn't have told anyone, unless... The new butler apparently was on Obie's pay roll. Wonderful. He burned with anger that people would talk behind his back to Obie about that. It was just as well he hadn't been sold out to the paparazzi.

He knew what he wanted. He made a few missile systems for Stark Industries before, but he wanted to focus on things that didn't kill people. He didn't really like the thought of making weapons full time either, not if they were being sold under the table. The fact that Obie thought he was just being childish burned. He could make a _difference_ with robotics, or if that didn't work, he could try green energy? He had a few ideas. Some of what he was working on could help at hospitals to save people instead of killing them.

"Of course," Obie said, throwing an arm around Tony and squeezing his shoulder. "But why don't you take some time off? The annual Christmas party is tomorrow, but after that you'll be free to do as you please. And with your parents gone... Well, you wouldn't have spent it with your folks anyway, but use the time to rest."

He was getting no where. And what if Obie was right? What if he was just over thinking things because Howard... "Alright," he said, staring at his shoes.

As Obie walked him to the door, Tony stared at the ground. It wasn't fair. Because he was young and his parents had died, no one was taking him seriously. And now he was questioning himself. "See you at the party, Tony."

Once outside the office, Tony closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, hitting his head against it lightly. Well, that had been a failure.

"Tony, are you alright? What are you doing in the office?"

"Pepper?" He opened his eyes and was immediately aware that despite Rhodey eventually carting him off to sleep last night, he hadn't gotten much of it. At least the suit he was wearing was nice, since he'd been trying to get Obie's approval. "I'm just... I wanted to talk to Obie."

"You need to work less, already eighteen and no time to grieve," she said, shaking her head. She looked immaculate in her suit and her hair pinned up, even the soft frown not marring her features like it would for other people. She was older than Tony, but her freckles made her seem younger. There was worry in her eyes, and Tony froze as she pulled him in for a hug that sent his stomach into flips. "Though I guess with the holidays, you might not want to be at home."

"I'm fine," he said, because he wasn't fragile like everyone thought. "And I came in because of this. But Obie..."

He held out the newspaper, and her eyes narrowed. "I heard," she said curtly. "SI's going to have a hard time coming back from that, especially not even a day after the funeral. I'm so sorry, Tony."

"People, mostly the soldiers who are protecting us, they're _dying_ because of our weapons," Tony said. "And Obie says there's nothing I can do to help. I just... I can't fix it."

Pepper tilted her head, considering the problem. "I'm afraid he's right. I'm sure Mr. Stane is looking for ways to fix it though. You just have to be patient."

"It's not enough," Tony said, shaking his head. He was failing at everything.

"Then how about this," Pepper said, smiling softly. "I'm at the main office while the Maria Stark Foundation is reorganizing after... Well, there's a lot of duties we now have to decide who does them. I'll be working with the finance department for a little while to make sure all the money is in order. Whoever is selling these weapons, if it's from within the company the money has to go somewhere. I can take a look and see if anything looks suspicious?"

Tony looked up, falling more in love with her. "We can-"

" _I_ can. You should go home and spend some time with your friend," Pepper said. She ruffled his hair and he scowled at her, which she returned with a smile. "I know it feels hard right now, but things will get better. I can't promise I'll find anything, but I'll let you know if I do."

"Everyone's treating me like a kid," Tony whined. "I'm not. I can make my own decisions and I'm not being childish."

Raising her eyebrows, she leaned in and straightened his tie. This close, Tony's breath caught and he had to fight off a blush. "I believe you," she said gently. Then she winked. "Will that be all, _Mr. Stark_?"

This time he knew his cheeks were burning. "I want that report ASAP, but that'll be all, Ms. Potts."

"Then go get some rest, Tony. We'll figure this out, I promise."

"Thanks," Tony said, still feeling helpless.

Was there really nothing he could do?

* * *

Rhodey convinced him that he really wasn't needed at the SI annual party, and Tony was a bit relieved Rhodey had made some pretty convincing arguments about the food being much better if they ordered in rather than going to a stuffy party. Rhodey had figured out really early on in their relationship that Tony tended to substitute food for emotions, and his solution to cheering Tony up was pizza and hamburgers, which, Tony would admit, was a pretty good solution.

But Obie had called asking Tony to come in for something to do with Howard's will and explain more about Tony's new role in the company, and Tony wanted to check base with Pepper to see if she'd found anything, so he ended up at the SI building anyway. At least this time he was comfortable, wearing jeans and an AC/DC shirt. Obie didn't say he had to dress up and wearing a suit yesterday had sucked.

The lobby of the Stark Industries building reminded him too much of his father, and Tony contemplated moving out to the west coast branch for a while. It wasn't like the company had to be run in New York, and after he finished his degree, he doubted they'd give him money to redesign everything. But Howard hadn't been out in the west coast branch other than for visits, and there would be less of his father to have to hide from.

Thankfully security waved him right through despite the lack of suit, so he didn't have to wait very long. But when he got to Obie's office, Pepper was standing at his door, looking like she was eavesdropping. His hands suddenly felt sweaty and he wiped them on his pants leg. "Are you supposed to-" he started to say.

Pepper turned to him with wide eyes, hushing him with a quick motion of her hands. Something was wrong, but why was Pepper listening in? "Pepper?" he asked, quieter.

She moved away from the door, quickly scribbling on her clipboard as she went. "Oh, Tony!" she said brightly, covering the panic in her eyes. "Have you thought about the proposal from the Maria Stark Foundation for a memorial?"

She quickly walked over to him, then, strangely enough, behind him. He had to turn to face her as she continued to write at a furious pace Tony could only marvel at.

"Memorial?" he mouthed.

"Play along," Pepper whispered.

The door to Obie's office opened and a man Tony didn't recognize stepped out. He was tall and blond, with a face that was so classically handsome that he looked straight out of a Hollywood western. He wore a bespoke suit and carried power on his shoulders like the world belonged to him.

Obie followed behind him, smiling as he shook the man's hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Pierce."

"I look forward to doing more," the man said with a warm smile.

Pepper thrust the clipboard she'd been writing on at him, and Tony looked away to glance down at it. ' _Act normal. Memorial for your mother. You want to be more involved with the charity. They were talking about killing you. Don't be alone with either of them._ '

He looked up to meet her eyes. She nodded. Swallowing, Tony clutched the clipboard, fishing for the paper he'd left in his pocket for Director Carter. He fumbled for it, but managed to clip it to the board. He then wrote ' _I'm supposed to go with Obie for something. What should I do?_ ' before he gave it back to Pepper with a weak smile. "I like the ideas you've got so far. Could you have a landscaper do up some designs for the garden?"

"Of course, Mr. Stark," she said, glancing at the note, then rapidly writing again. "Oh, how could I forget about the irises being her favorite? I'll make sure the landscaper knows."

"Ah, there you are, my boy," Obie said before Tony could catch a glimpse of her response. "I've been waiting for you. There are some things I want to show you down in the lab."

Tony panicked a little, nearly colliding into Pepper as he stepped back. "Right now?"

"That's why I asked you to come over!" Obie said, touching Tony's shoulder with just a bit of pressure. "Don't tell me you forgot already."

"But Pepper-" Tony said, looking to her for help before trying to clamp down on his terror.

Pepper smiled cheerfully, though her grip on the clipboard betrayed her own fear. "You can convince me to be your secretary later, Mr. Stark," she said fondly.

"What's this about?" Obie asked, looking between the two of them.

Tony latched onto Pepper's lifeline with gusto. "Pepper's been practically running Mom's charities for the past year, Obie. I know she'd be great at teaching me the ins and outs of business, and she can help keep me filled in while I'm finishing my degree!"

It was, despite it being a fake suggestion, not a bad idea. He'd have to remember that when he was less likely to be killed.

The scrutinizing gaze Obie gave him made Tony fidget. Then he looked Pepper over, clearly undressing her with his eyes.

Tony flushed. That was _not_ why he wanted Pepper as a PA, regardless of the torch he carried for the older woman. "I'm not-" he stuttered as Pepper smiled beatifically, though there was more steel to her expression now than there had been before.

"Of course not, my boy," Obie said, nodding knowingly despite his words. "I'm sure Ms. Potts has many fine qualities when it comes to business."

It made Tony a little sick to hear Obie imply that about Pepper. Sure, he did have a certain reputation at MIT (Rhodey never complained because Tony was also a pretty good wingman), but Pepper was different. She didn't deserve Obie flippantly reducing her to eye candy. Pepper caught his eye, shaking her head slightly. Her smile became a little softer though. At least she knew he didn't mean it like that...

"But you can talk about it later," Obie said firmly, steering Tony towards the door.

"Trial basis?" Tony asked. "Starting now. Just for a week. Or just for today? She could come with us to the lab."

He could see Obie's thoughts as if they were written behind his eyes. He thought Tony was trying to impress her. Then he turned pensive. "If Ms. Potts agrees," Obie said finally.

Pepper sighed, then looked down demurely as she fluttered her eyes. "If Mr. Stark insists," she said, falling into her role easily. 

"I do, Ms. Potts," Tony replied, trying to fake his usual charm with girls. He'd never really managed it around Pepper to begin with, something about her always throwing him off his game. But he knew how to put on a show, at least, and he focused on that rather than charming Pepper.

"Alright. Now hurry up, Tone. We don't want to keep everyone waiting," Obie said, taking off towards the door.

Tony looked at Pepper again, but she was already following after. He hurried to catch up, and her hand slipped into his as he got level with her, squeezing it gently before she pulled away.

Obie was on his phone while they rode down to the labs, but Tony couldn't see what it was about without being too obvious. Pepper was flipping through her clipboard, trying to hide her own phone. He hoped she was trying to call the police, or that she was trying the numbers on the paper he'd given her.

They'd barely stepped out of the elevator when the building shook. He stumbled into Pepper who dropped her phone, the sound of it hitting the floor completely overtaken by the alarms blaring at full force. Tony plugged one ear to block the worst of it, then looked around. What happened? This was New York, so it couldn't be an earthquake.

"Get to the stairs!" Obie said, herding both of them towards the emergency exit as he pushed at Tony's shoulder. "Pepper, get him out of here. I'll get the rest of the people out."

"I can-" Tony said.

"Understood," Pepper replied, taking his arm. "We have to get help," she mouthed.

He nodded, then let her lead him to the stairs. It wasn't long before the stairwell was crowded and stifling, pushing Tony and Pepper down whether they wanted to go or not. Between the alarms and people screaming he could barely hear himself think as he tried not to fall behind in the crowd. Tony wasn't claustrophobic, but so many people pressed against him pushing and pulling him down and not stopping for anything was terrifying.

He felt someone's hands on his shoulder, shoving him aside, and he nearly fell. He caught his balance. Pepper tripped as well, and he pulled her to him before she could be trampled by the mass of people. This close, the smell of her perfume over the crowd's sweat and panic was calming enough that he could make the next step as he blocked out everyone else and focused on her.

There was more screaming as the building rocked again, and it was getting hard to breathe. On Director Carter's paper, there'd been a phrase for emergencies. "I wish-" he started to say.

Cold air from outside hit him like a sucker punch. He hadn't even realized they'd been that close to the exit, and it derailed his thoughts. He gasped as Pepper pulled him out of the flow of people, her eyes wide and hair out of place now, though Tony hadn't noticed it happening.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they moved away from the crowds.

"Yeah. Just shaken," she said, looking up at the building.

Tony followed her gaze to see smoke coming from the top floors. "A fire?"

Pepper's hand was on his shoulder, and she started. She was pulling something off him, and he turned to look at her. "Pepper, what-"

"It was on your shoulder," she said, holding out a device.

Before he could respond, something was put over his head and Pepper screamed. Hands were grabbing at him, pinning him down as he kicked back. A rough voice swore as his foot connected, but his arms were yanked back violently. "Pepper!" he shouted.

"Shit!" another voice said as the thing on his head was pulled off. He barely had time to look around as the man holding him screamed and let go.

Pepper grabbed his arm. She took off running with Tony in tow despite her heels, a small, black device in her hands.

"Is that a Taser?" he asked breathlessly.

"No girl should leave home without one," Pepper said grimly.

This wasn't just a crush. Tony could honestly say he was madly in love.

The men were shouting after them, and he heard a click as they turned the corner. Tony caught sight of the Stark Industries logo before Pepper pushed him away and the explosion deafened him.

He hit the side of the building and everything went dark.

* * *

Tony shivered, curled in the corner of the room they threw him in. It was bare, with nothing for him to hide behind, so he tried to make himself as small as possible. His clothes were still wet from when they forced his head under water, making the ground feel colder as he coughed up the excess water he'd breathed in.

When the coughing finally died down, he curled further in on himself as he squeezed his eyes shut. He could breathe again. They weren't holding him down anymore. He could -

The door opened and Tony flinched. They couldn't have come back. It hadn't even been ten minutes! They had been at this for days, and they usually left him for at least three hours after. But then, he hadn't wounded one of them like the last time. He'd managed to fight back then, breaking one of the guards' noses when they weren't paying attention. But now he couldn't... "No," he said, shaking his head. His voice was harsh and raspy and he tried not to remember the water. "Please. No more..."

There was a scrape across the floor that made Tony tense. Were they bringing the barrel in here?

But no one touched him, and soon the door closed again. Taking a deep breath, Tony risked looking up.

There was a man sitting in the chair, staring at him with a contemplative expression on his face. It was the same one who had been in Obie's office. There was a guard behind him with a gun pointed at Tony's head, and a second guard standing to the side that didn't look armed, but wore a of leather glove on one hand.

Tony pressed further against the wall, waiting for whatever blow would come. But nothing happened. The man didn't move or speak, just sat there and stared at him. "What do you want from me?" Tony asked, his voice breaking. "There's no one to pay the ransom anymore, so why...?"

"You're a conundrum, Mr. Stark," the man said. He had a smooth voice that would have been calming if not for the torture and the guns pointed at him. "Mr. Stane wants you dead, and that's probably the wisest choice. We know you had someone looking into finances, and we can't afford to let you stumble into our operation."

"Who are you?" Tony asked.

"My name is Alexander Pierce," he said, actually answering Tony's question this time. "And I'm the head of the organization that's running your country, and most of the world."

"You're not the president," Tony spat.

Pierce just smiled. Tony hated that smile. It made the man look normal and friendly, like he hadn't just orchestrated blowing up the SI building and killing innocent people just to kidnap and torture Tony. "We both know you're not that naive, Tony. I can call you Tony, can't I?" he asked, leaning forward. He didn't wait for Tony's negative. "And my organization, we've run the risks on you. You're too clever by half to let you live, or to chance you pretending to join us."

Tony shivered. "Then why haven't you killed me yet?!"

"That would be the easiest thing to do," Pierce agreed, ignoring how Tony was shouting. "But I hate waste. Your old man, he was at the end of his rope. He drank more than he created, and he was hurting business."

His body went completely still, except for his widening eyes. Tony felt like even his lungs had stopped pulling in breath. What Pierce said... His parents' deaths had been an accident. They died in a car crash. They weren't...

"You killed them," Tony choked out. He stumbled to his feet, anger coursing through him. He nearly stepped forward, but the man with the gun released the safety with a quiet click and Tony stayed back against the wall. His hands balled into fists.

"Not personally, but yes," Pierce admitted.

It was no secret that Tony didn't get along with either of his parents, and Howard was a mean drunk, but _murdered_ was still a word that burned in Tony's chest like a hot coal. Tony pushed off from the wall, not caring about the gun anymore. He threw a punch at Pierce, wanting to destroy that polite smile from his face.

He didn't know what happened, but he barely blinked before he cried out in pain as his arm was twisted around his back and he was pushed to the ground. Tears pricked at his eyes as his arm was yanked higher. Tony closed his eyes as he forced back the tears. Stark men don't cry. They don't. He couldn't help the whimper as the press increased.

"You see, Tony," Pierce said, his voice coming closer as he crouched down next to where Tony was being held. The man with the gun was entirely for show, Tony realized. The unarmed one was the real problem, and Pierce was untouchable. "You present a unique problem. Obadiah has to push to get you to work on the weapons we need, and you seem more inclined to work on less useful things."

"I won't make weapons for you, murderer!" Tony growled, gasping as the unarmed guard pushed his hand further up.

"I know," Pierce said with a calm certainty, stepping back until he was seated again. Then the unarmed guard released him. Tony caught his breath and looked up to see the guard standing beside Pierce again, as though neither of them had actually moved.

For a long moment, Tony didn't move. He lay on the floor, breathing and trying to repress the burning pain. Finally, he pushed himself back up on his good arm, sitting slowly.

"And that's the problem," Pierce continued as if he hadn't been waiting on Tony to move. "We've been studying you for a while now, and we could break you, but then you'd be useless to us. And if we don't, you'll find some way to mess with our plans, building yourself an escape route instead of a usable weapon. A waste."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" Tony asked, drawing a sharp breath as he moved back to the wall and jarred his bad arm. He cradled it against him, a tear slipping out. His heartbeat pulsed in his ears, far too quick for Tony to calm down.

"Because I'd like to try a third option," Pierce said. "There's a chemical we've been developing, the ZEMO formula. With it, you'll become much more malleable to our ideals while retaining your genius."

"I _won't_ ," Tony promised.

"You won't have a choice," Pierce said. He stood again, moving closer as Tony pressed himself against the wall. "Unfortunately the formula isn't ready yet, at least not for human testing on someone important. Which is why I came down for our little chat today. This is your warning. Stay quiet, don't make a fuss, and we can give you the formula in a few weeks when it's ready."

Then Pierce sighed, shaking his head. "If you try to escape like you did your first day here, or hurt the guards like you did today, I'm afraid you'll have more of the hospitality from my colleagues. You make too much trouble, and I won't be able to convince the others that it's worth it to keep you around."

The threat was implicit enough, but Tony was already weighing the effects of the chemical versus causing too much trouble. He didn't know if he could keep fighting, but if they found some way to force him to make weapons... Tony knew he could make weapons, and very good ones, if he really focused. The thought of it chilled him more than the cold wall against his back.

As if Pierce knew, he added, "And you're not the only one who is expendable, Tony. Ms. Virginia Potts has already suffered because of your meddling, but we're aware of your other friend."

"What?" Tony said, his eyes going wide in disbelief. "What did you do to Pepper!?"

"It was unfortunate, but we found her phone and she had been texting about me to your friends in SHIELD," Pierce said. "We couldn't chance her waking up. But as long as you behave, Mr. James Rhodes should be alright."

"Don't hurt him!" Tony shouted, lunging again for Pierce despite knowing it was useless. "Don't-"

This time the guard with the gun moved, the butt of the gun hitting his head hard enough that he fell back with a cry, clutching his head as it throbbed.

"Careful," he heard Pierce say. "We need his brains intact."

He sank down to the ground, blinking his eyes rapidly to clear them. He couldn't even touch Pierce. All he was doing was failing.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Tony. I look forward to watching your new career," he heard Pierce say. "You'll find your new employers to be very generous to those that help us."

He heard the chair being dragged out, and Tony looked up to see Pierce alone, standing by the door. "Hail Hydra," he said, nodding to Tony once before shutting the door.

Tony listened to them walk away. He curled up on the floor, holding his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. Pepper was... Pierce had to be lying. But she had gone down before Tony had and... She couldn't have...

They killed her because of him. Tony felt his eyes prickling, but he didn't care anymore. Pepper... And now Rhodey was in danger too. Because they'd tried to help him. Because Tony was too helpless to do anything himself.

He should have listened to Director Carter and been more careful. He should have done _something_ , though he didn't know what. Whatever this ZEMO chemical was, Tony knew he couldn't take it. But Rhodey...

Stark Men didn't cry. But he was scared and hurt and he didn't know what to do. Taking the ZEMO formula would just get more people killed. And if Pepper was dead and Rhodey was in danger...

The first sob hurt more than the pounding in his head. It burned his lungs and tore at his throat. It was followed by another, and another, and another until he couldn't keep counting.

It was a while before the sobs gave way to something softer, and his cheeks burned in humiliation. He still couldn't _stop_. It was a good thing Dad couldn't see him now. He was such a big failure that he'd be disowned. Not like it mattered any more. He was alone and no one could see him. He was so alone...

Except he wasn't. He heard the shuffling and looked up in alarm at the sound, hastily wiping his eyes. He stood frantically, catching sight of a dark blur out of the corner of his eye. It was gone before he figured out what it was. But there wasn't anywhere to _hide_ in this room. They took him in breaks to go to the bathroom before throwing him back in here, and he'd been sleeping on the floor. There was no where for it to have gone.

There was no way that a piece of paper could have been on the ground. Certainly not the paper Director Carter had slipped him, because he'd given it to Pepper. Now it was crumpled and spotted in a rusty red, but he could still make out Deputy Director Fury's number. The red was what drew his eyes. _Blood_ , he realized, his eyes watering again. Pepper's blood?

He felt sick, his chest heaving even when there had long since been anything in his stomach to come up. He swallowed, closing his eyes to fight back more tears. He couldn't start crying again.

How did it get here? He focused on that and not the blood. Steeling himself, he wiped away the remaining moisture from his eyes and picked up the card. He swallowed again, turning it over.

The strange phrase on the back was still there, but now it was underlined and more words were added in a different, sloppier, handwriting. " _Say the words_ ," the new message read.

Tony looked at the phrase, his throat dry. Nothing was right. "I wish..." he started to say, his voice cracking as he shook his head. What did he expect from a bunch of stupid words that didn't even make sense? None of this made sense.

It was also all he had. He was helpless here, doing nothing. No matter what he did, people would die and it would all be his fault. The paper was impossible as it couldn't even be in the room, so there was a good chance he was hallucinating, but he couldn't ignore it.

He had nothing to lose.

His cheeks burned as he said the phrase aloud, feeling foolish for even trying. "I wish..."

Tony closed his eyes. He just needed to get it over with so that he could throw the paper away when nothing happened. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away right now!"

Nothing happened.

"What a load of BS," Tony muttered, sinking to the ground as he crumpled the paper. Of course nothing happened. Why did he think it would? He was utterly powerless to stop anything from happening. He was just about to curl back into his ball when the lights flickered off, leaving Tony in complete darkness without a window.

He scrambled to his feet, hearing a soft noise to his left. "Who's there?" he asked, backing against the wall as some kind of giggling started. It wasn't a nice laugh. "Turn the lights back on!" he shouted.

He yelped when something brushed against his leg, back bumping against the wall. "Stay back!" He raised his hands in front of him, but when he threw a punch, there was nothing.

Then something ran over his foot and he kicked out, again hitting nothing. "Don't come any closer!"

There was yelling and pounding on the other side of the door that sounded like the guard, but something small and strong grabbed his hand, yanking him forward. The ground beneath his feet shifted and vertigo pushed him down. He screamed when he fell, but he didn't hit the ground. There was no ground to fall on.


	2. Chapter Two

Tony groaned, rubbing his eyes. At least there was ground now. What had been a terrifying, but not horrible, free-fall had taken an abrupt turn into extreme pain a few seconds in, though Tony couldn't have said why. He had the feeling something had happened, but hell if he knew what it was.

Then again, this was all probably a dream so it didn't matter. It had to be. Being almost drowned for so long must have made him hallucinate. He didn't remember the cell's floor being this rocky though. Had they moved him?

Well, he wasn't going to find out anything with his eyes closed. Forcing them open, Tony winced at the sun directly overhead. He wasn't in a small room or anywhere else he recognized, but instead on a rocky terrain. It was all a dull brown color with the occasional yellowed plant that Tony didn't want to get too close to for a reason he couldn't quite put a finger on, and a few trees with bare branches spotted the landscape. It was a dusty landscape, and even the sun seemed muted and not as bright once his eyes adjusted. And wait, was that... Yup, there was glitter in the trees. What the actual fuck?

Standing up, he discovered he was on a hill. It was overlooking some kind of maze with a castle in the center. Even from this distance, he could see it looked a little run-down, with one of the towers half crumbled.

He shook his head and came to his next realization. This had to be a dream, because he wasn't hurt anymore. His arm, his head, and even his throat that had been run raw after being forced to breathe water, they were all fine. Except when he pinched his good arm, it _hurt_ and wasn't that a thing, that you couldn't get hurt in dreams?

If this wasn't a dream, though, that meant he had left the cell. Which would be good, except Rhodey was -

He yelped, jumping back from the tree which now had a big, white owl in its branches. It looked angry, and it leapt off the branch, flying straight at Tony. He ducked, covering his head.

Nothing happened, and Tony hesitantly looked up. Where did the owl go?

"Welcome to the Labyrinth of the Goblin King," a voice said from behind him.

Tony whipped around to face them, his hands curled into fists and held up in front of him. "Who are you?"

The man was tall with shoulder-length black hair, wearing some strange outfit of green and gold and a horned helmet. In short, he looked ridiculous, but he had a glowing staff that made Tony hesitant to call him out. He was smiling pleasantly, but something about him set Tony on guard.

"I am Loki, the leader of the resistance," the man said. "And I'm afraid we need your help."

Tony stared at the man, blinking in non-comprehension. "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I have to go back," Tony said. "They're going to - I have to help Rhodey."

"Yes, your friends. I've been watching your progress in the other world. It's a terrible situation," the man - Loki - said. With a sleight of hand too fast for Tony to follow, he pulled out a glass ball, rolling it on the back of his hand and palm in a mesmerizing way. His other hand left the staff against a nearby tree and then he was alternating hands with the ball seamlessly. Tony's eyes were drawn to it as it moved from one hand to another, until Loki finally caught it and held it out for Tony to see the growing picture inside of it.

Tony frowned, rubbing his eyes. But when he opened them again, the picture was still forming in the ball. It was - "Pepper!" he said. She was in...

Swallowing, Tony suddenly found it hard to breathe. She was in a coffin.

He almost didn't recognize her. He couldn't say what it was exactly, but she lacked a certain Pepper-ness that left Tony feeling empty. There was a man next to the coffin, holding her hand. He was a bulky sort of guy with blond hair tied in a pony-tail. His tough appearance was at odds with the tears in his eyes, and he fumbled with a ring that he placed in her hand, but not on her finger.

"Virginia Potts and her boyfriend, Happy Hogan," Loki said as the man in the picture closed his eyes. "Such a shame, considering. He was planning on asking her to marry him on their anniversary."

At any other time the word 'boyfriend' would have felt like a verbal slap to Tony, but his throat was closing too fast for it to matter and hurting worse than it had back in the cell. It was one thing to be told Pierce had killed Pepper, but some part of him had still desperately wanted to deny it was true. Seeing it ripped him apart, and he shook his head, taking a step back. "She's really... She can't be."

"Unfortunately, she is," Loki said, his voice soft with sympathy. Then he flicked the glass ball over and a new picture replaced the one of Pepper. It was Rhodey, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. He was outside Stark Industries, looking up at it with a lost expression. Tony could see there was a group of men just out of Rhodey's line of view, one of them cocking a gun in the alley as Rhodey's shoulders slumped. Rhodey started to walk towards the alley, clearly unaware of the danger.

"Rhodey! Run! Don't go that way!" Tony shouted.

"He can't hear you," Loki said as the men pulled a struggling Rhodey into the alley. "My powers don't extend that far. I can only watch and let you see their fates."

"I have to go back," Tony said, tearing his eyes away from the glass ball to look at Loki. "You have to send me back!"

"I'm sorry to say I don't have the power to do that," Loki said with a sigh. "But I know who does."

Balling his hands into fists, Tony took a shaky breath. He could still do something. "Who?"

"It was by the Goblin King's powers that you came here. He is the only one who can send you back."

"Goblins aren't real," Tony said, his voice wavering.

"You see before you the Labyrinth of the Goblin King with the Goblin City at its center. They are very real," Loki said, raising an eyebrow. "You asked the Goblin King to bring you here, and yet you question his existence?"

"It was just a phrase! I didn't think-"

"Mortals so rarely do," Loki said dryly.

"Why do you care, Reindeer Games?" Tony said, gritting his teeth against the insult. "Whatever. If he can send me back, all I have to do is find him," Tony said, turning away in anger. He looked over the Labyrinth, trying to gauge the distance. "The Labyrinth's just a maze, right? It doesn't look too hard."

"Things aren't always what they seem in the Labyrinth," Loki said. "And you'd be too late, even if you forced him to send you back."

Tony froze, looking back at Loki who had lost the glass ball and now had his staff in hand again. Then he balled his fist. He wasn't going to be helpless this time. "I have to try," he said.

"Or you could aid the resistance," Loki said reasonably. "I may not be able to send you back, but I can manipulate _when_ you are sent back."

"When?" Tony asked, wishing the guy would start to make sense. "What do you mean?"

"The Goblin King brought you here," Loki said, gesturing to the dusty landscape. "The only way for you to go back is for him to send you there, which he is not likely to do. The King Ms. Carter knew is long dead, replaced by a cruel tyrant. But if you kill him within thirteen hours, the magic will automatically send you back, and I can use that energy to make sure you get back before Ms. Potts was hurt."

Hope was a dangerous thing; Tony felt it grasp at him before he had any real say. Pepper was dead, but if Loki was telling the truth, he could change that. He could bring her back, and then make sure Rhodey was okay. "But you can't just do it yourself?" Tony asked.

"The laws of magic are strict. Only he who brought you here can send you back, or his death."

"Magic sucks," Tony said, because that made no sense. Well, not any more than anything else in this place. He missed logic. "What's with the thirteen hour time limit?"

"There won't be enough residual energy to send you back, after that," Loki explained. "Magical energy doesn't last very long, sadly."

"So I have to solve the Labyrinth and..." Tony swallowed. "And kill the King Goblin? Why wouldn't he send me back?" The thought of killing someone made Tony's blood run cold. It was worse than making weapons for Pierce, and he felt his stomach clench in knots.

"He's an evil king," Loki said, looking at the castle sadly. "He killed the last king, the one that Ms. Carter knew, and he's been using his subjects in secret for horrible experiments. I imagine getting his hands on a human would not end well for you."

Tony shuddered, thinking back to the ZEMO chemical. He'd had enough of people threatening with experiments.

Loki brought back the ball again with a flick of his wrist, and Tony gasped at the picture now on the screen. "That's..."

"The Goblin King," Loki said grimly. "I believe you know his human counterpart, Alexander Pierce. He created the doppelganger in an attempt to have more influence on earth, infiltrating an organization called Hydra to gain more power."

"He's..." He's the one who killed Pepper. Who was going to hurt Rhodey. He looked a little different, more rugged. His skin had a blue tint and he had pointed ears, along with a wicked smile. Tony shivered looking at the man, anger rising up. He'd never considered killing anyone before, but Tony suddenly wasn't as sure that he wouldn't do it.

"A very evil man," Loki finished for Tony. With a flick of his wrist, the picture changed, this time to a blond man who looked familiar, but whom Tony couldn't place. He was broad-shouldered and had long blond hair that was ridiculously spiky. His clothes left very little to the imagination, with pants tight enough that Tony wondered if he used magic to get into them. The billowy shirt was more covering, but the black vest showed off his trim waist and was well fitted. It was the man's eyes that drew Tony in, however. They were blue and they looked... They looked so sad. "And this is the form he stole. He cast a glamour over everyone to make them think he was the old king. I used my magic to escape the glamour and trap him, but I can't get near him to finish him off due to a shield he threw up at the last second. I believe it would benefit both our worlds if he were gone."

"That's what the old king looked like?" Tony asked, unable to look away. The old king was dead, according to Loki. Why did he look so familiar? There was something just off enough about the picture that it unsettled him, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. His mouth started running to cover his unease. "Do all people wear really weird outfits here? Though compared to yours, he almost looks normal."

He saw Loki's eyes narrow and remembered the glowing staff and the glass ball. Maybe not his best strategy. "You make a good point, mortal. I would hate for you not to fit in," Loki said, raising his staff and pointing it at Tony's chest.

"Uh, I didn't mean-" Tony said, flinching as the staff touched him. When nothing else happened, he opened his eyes and stared at the point sitting dead center on his chest.

The center of his chest was no longer an AC/DC logo, however, but a peasant shirt with poofy sleeves framed by one of the most hideous vests he'd ever seen. Fuck, was that a popped collar? "Hey! I liked that shirt!"

He tore at the vest, trying to get at least that much off, but Loki's voice stopped him. "Oh, yes. I'm sure I could do much worse than that," the other man threatened with a dark glint in his eye.

Bastard.

Leaving the hideous vest on, Tony was glad that he at least still had jeans and tennis shoes. If Loki couldn't come with him, he'd just have to wait until he solved the Labyrinth to take the vest off. He gave the poofy sleeves one last look of disgust before sighing and steeling himself for what came next.

"Okay," Tony said, still not sure if he could do this, but it was worth investigating. And if the Goblin King _was_ working for Hydra, he had some revenge to get. Besides, if it could save Pepper and Rhodey... "How do I find him?"

"He's in the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. As all my friends believe me to be a traitor thanks to the glamour, you'll have to make your way there by yourself or they would try to stop you. And they can be very... persistent," Loki said, casting an annoyed glance down at the castle. "But I will watch over you the best I can. I wouldn't tell anyone that you meet about what you are doing, however. The glamour is strong, and they will attack you should you mention it."

"Yeah, attacking bad," Tony said with a wince. That was the last thing he needed. He looked at the Labyrinth again, trying to gain as much knowledge as he could about it from the view above. "You said thirteen hours? Should be a piece of cake to-"

When Tony turned around, Loki was gone. Rude. He wished he had his cell phone, but they had taken that from him when he was knocked unconscious. Probably wouldn't work in a place with magic anyway. Though he couldn't exactly complain when all of his wounds had been healed.

Glancing around to make sure Loki had gone, Tony started to take off the horrific vest. "Ah, ah, ah," Loki's voice said, causing Tony to jump.

He looked around, but saw no one. The voice had come right next to his ear too. "Where-"

"Remember, I'll be watching," Loki said, his voice fading till Tony could barely hear it.

Bastard.

He looked down at the Labyrinth again, biting his lip. It was just an over-blown maze, wasn't it? If he could get through it, he could save Rhodey and Pepper.

Bolstered by that thought, Tony tried and failed to bat down the popped collar of his shirt. What was this, the 80s? At least there were no shoulder pads. "Come on, feet," he said as he started down the hill while he bemoaned Loki's fashion choices and nearly twisted his ankle on the rocks. Catching his balance on a nearby leaf-less but glittery tree, Tony stopped grumbling and paid more attention to where he was going.

It wasn't long before he got to the walls of the maze and saw... a dwarf? He had a bow and arrow strapped onto his back, which was weird since weren't elves the ones with arrows? He thought dwarves used axes. Not that he had ever met a dwarf, but he was pretty sure arrows weren't a normal weapon for them. The dwarf also had some kind of a tool in his hand as he was walking around the walls.

There were no doors that Tony could see, and the only addition to the scenery were some white flowers that he didn't particularly want to get nearer to and more glitter. Which left Tony with one choice: talking to the dwarf.

"Uh, hey," Tony said, feeling a bit awkward. "Do you know how to get in?"

The dwarf turned to face him, and Tony was held in place by a pair of piercing blue eyes. Weren't dwarves supposed to have beards and not freaky eyes? Tony swallowed, feeling unnerved. There was something unnatural about the color that chilled Tony to the core.

"Get in where?" the dwarf asked, his voice, at least, surprisingly normal.

"There. The Labyrinth," Tony said.

The dwarf looked at the wall where Tony was pointing. "Yup. That's the Labyrinth," the dwarf said, and Tony realized the tool he was holding was some kind of pump.

"I know that's the Labyrinth," Tony snapped. He didn't have time to be wasting talking to dwarves with freaky eyes.

"Then why'd you ask me?" the dwarf asked.

"I didn't- hey! Why did you do that?"

Tony ran forward to the wall where a fairy lay on the ground after the dwarf had sprayed it with some kind of gas. She was a little bigger than his two hands cupped together, but it was easy to hold her because she weighed next to nothing. She had vibrant red hair cut short in a bob and a black outfit that had a red hourglass in the center like a spider. Her black wings were almost translucent. Gossamer, his mind supplied. She looked dazed and-

"Ow!" Tony said, dropping the fairy and looking at his now bleeding thumb. "She bit me!"

"What do you expect fairies to do?" the dwarf asked, leaning in closer to look at the fairy, but she fluttered away. "Damn. She might have been the one I was trying to kill."

"Not bite people," Tony replied, sucking on it as the dwarf continued to spray other fairies. "Why is there one fairy you're trying to kill?"

"She's a pest," the dwarf said. "I was hoping if I killed enough of the others, I'd draw her out, but she's proving to be illusive."

"Okay," Tony said, trying not to think about how morbid that was. It didn't feel right, even if the fairies were just pests. "So how do I get in?"

"Get in where?"

"The Labyrinth!"

"The what?" the dwarf said, not even looking up from his fairy slaughtering.

Tony huffed. "You're useless! What are you supposed to be anyway? A fairy exterminator?"

"The name's Clint Barton, and it's not useless if you ask me the right questions," the dwarf - what kind of a name was Clint for a dwarf, anyway? Lamest dwarf name ever - said as he hit another fairy. "And if you're not going to ask the right questions, go bother someone else. I've got work to do."

"How do I get into the labyrinth?" Tony asked, exasperated.

At that, the dwarf stopped, turning around and gesturing. "You get in through there."

A couple of doors that Tony hadn't seen before opened without any kind of device to open them that Tony could see. He shivered, then crossed his arms. He wasn't going to be intimidated by magic even if he hated it. He could do this. Then he could save Pepper and Rhodey and get back to science and logic.

He stepped through the doors and looked around. The walls were covered in ivy, even more glitter, and... were those _eyeballs_? Tony leaned forward to get a better look at them, then yelped as the eyestalks moved to mimic him. _Creepy_.

He quickly realized one major problem, however, once he tore his eyes away from the... eyes. "What kind of labyrinth is this? There's no twists or turns or anything! And did someone throw a glitter bomb in here, because I've never seen so much glitter in my life."

How was he supposed to get to the center of the Labyrinth when there were only two directions to go? And they seemed endless too. He was not walking for hours with creepy eye stalks following his every move.

Tony jumped at the sound of Clint's voice right next to him. He'd forgotten about the dwarf entirely. "The problem with you is you take too many things for granted. You won't make it through the Labyrinth at this rate."

"I will," Tony said, sticking his chin out. "I have to. Anyway, if you're not going to help me, go back to your fairy extermination, Gimli."

"The name's Clint. And watch out for the fairies," the dwarf said as he walked back through the doors to the outside of the Labyrinth, closing the doors behind him.

"Thanks for nothing," Tony said, glaring at the wall. He didn't like the thought of being locked in either, but when he tried the doors again, they refused to open. Was it hopeless? How was he supposed to get to the center of the Labyrinth like this?

Punching the wall, Tony focused on the pain in his hand to calm down. What had the dwarf said? He took too much for granted.

He looked down one direction of the Labyrinth, narrowing his eyes. "What if I'm just taking for granted that it goes on forever?" he said softly, turning the thought over in his mind. Even without magic, there were plenty of illusions that could do that.

Taking one last look, Tony headed right at random, picking up speed as he went. The stone ground was uneven, reminding him of the streets in Europe he'd wandered during a summer holiday. He jumped over a branch that broke up the ground further. He couldn't go too fast without breaking an ankle, but he hit a decent run.

Except no matter how far he ran, the end was never any closer. The stitch in his side forced him to stop, and after he regained his breath, Tony beat on the wall again. It did nothing but hurt his hands, but the sense of helplessness was taking over and he couldn't give in to that. Finally, he slumped against the side, sinking down until he could pull his knees to his chest.

"You done?" a low female voice asked.

"Who-" Tony looked around, but he didn't see anyone other than the moss eye-stalks, which were kind of gross. He hadn't realized how close he'd been to them.

"Up here, kid."

"Not a kid," Tony grumbled, finally pinpointing the voice. It was the fairy from earlier, sitting on top of the wall and looking down on him. He pushed himself up for a better view. Clint had said to be careful of the fairies... "Hey, you're the one that bit me."

"The stuff Clint had was disorienting. I didn't know if you were friend or foe," she said with a shrug. It wasn't an apology, but it made sense.

"So fairies aren't mean?" Tony asked, still not wanting to be closer to her. He didn't know who's word to take at this point.

"Never said that," the fairy said with a wicked smile.

"Then I don't need your help if you're just here to bite me again, Tinker Bell," Tony said mulishly.

"So you _don't_ want to know the way to the center of the Labyrinth then?" the fairy asked sweetly. "I'll just fly away then and-"

"Wait!" Tony called. "Don't go!"

The fairy regarded him from her perch, sharp, intelligent eyes taking him apart. At least her eyes weren't creepy like Clint's were. Finally, she flew down until she was eye-level with him. "Why are you in the Labyrinth?" she asked.

"I have to go home," Tony said, stalling so that he could come up with a better excuse. "The only way to do that is to go to the center of it."

"Then why come here in the first place?" the fairy asked.

"I didn't-"

"You asked for the Goblin King to take you away," the fairy said, fluttering her wings in annoyance.

"I didn't know!" Tony said, "I didn't think it'd be real."

The fairy snorted, raising an eyebrow. "So you just said a phrase you didn't believe in for kicks? What, you didn't want to go to school that day so you tried it instead of calling in sick?"

"I didn't - They were -" Tony felt a fresh wave of panic. His treacherous mind supplied memories of the kick to the ribs and being held under water. His lungs were burning, forcing him to breathe in even when-

Tony didn't remember curling up on the ground or the fairy landing on his shoulder. Her wings moved slowly back and forth as she stroked his cheek with her small hand, and he took a shuddering breath as he tried to account for lost time. He was-

"Easy," the fairy said, cutting through his thoughts soothingly. "You're safe now. They won't hurt you here."

It was cold in the room they locked him in, but Tony didn't think that was why he was shivering. And when he opened his eyes, it wasn't the barren room, but the endless walls of the glittery Labyrinth, with its eye-stock moss and biting fairy staring at him.

"They hurt you," the fairy said. "That's why you said the words."

"I'm fine," Tony said, despite the fact he obviously was not. His father would call him... would have called him pathetic.

"And you want to go back to that?" the fairy asked skeptically.

"I don't _want_ to," Tony said, trying to stand. The fairy fluttered off his shoulder, but Tony's feet couldn't hold him and he sank back down.

"Okay," the fairy said, going back to his shoulder once he was settled and rubbing his cheek. "I believe you. Do you remember who they were? Any names?"

"They were-" He stopped trying to stand, his cheeks burning in humiliation. What was wrong with him? What had even happened? He had just been thinking about-

"Easy," the fairy said again, no more questions about Hydra. "Focus. Don't think about what happened. Tell me why you're trying to go back?"

He was being pathetic. He could answer her question. "My friends, they're..." Tony swallowed, closing his eyes. He certainly wasn't helping anyone like this! "I have to help them."

"What happened to them?"

He probably shouldn't mention Pepper's death as that might link him back to Loki, but the words nearly stumbled out of his mouth before he caught himself. He shivered, and Natasha flew down until she could take his hand. It was so big compared to her body size, but she held it all the same. "They're hurt and they're both in danger," Tony forced himself to say. "I was trying... I couldn't help them from where I was, then I got here. There was this big white owl, and someone told me finding the Goblin King could help me get back to save them. But he's-"

"In the center of the Labyrinth," the fairy finished for him. "Are you sure it was a white owl?"

"Big one," Tony replied, wondering why the owl was so important. Should he mention that it tried to attack him?

The fairy nodded, smiling openly at Tony for the first time. Despite the fact she had bitten him before, she seemed... kinder. Less creepy than the dwarf at any rate. "Alright. The King would help you get back and you could..." the fairy said, shaking her head. Whatever she had been about to say, she didn't finish. "I'm Natasha," she said instead.

"Tony," he said, wondering what kind of a place had dwarves named Clint and fairies named Natasha. "But if he's the Goblin King, why would he help me? Aren't goblins supposed to be mean? I don't get why I was supposed to call for him."

"You shouldn't take things for granted in the Labyrinth. Not everything or everyone are what they seem," Natasha said. That was more or less what Clint had said too.

Which was extremely unhelpful, given his current situation. "Why do you call it a labyrinth when it's just a straight line, anyway?" Tony said as he ran a hand through his hair. Frustration was taking over the helplessness, and he grabbed hold of that anger to bolster him. It was almost enough for him to stop shaking.

At that, Natasha smirked knowingly. "There's plenty of twists and turns. There's even one right there in front of you."

"What?" Tony asked, looking up sharply. There was nothing there but a wall covered in ivy, branches, and the inexplicable glitter. He stood up slowly, his legs holding him this time as he glared at the offending stone. "It's just a wall."

Natasha looked extremely unimpressed with him, but she fluttered up to his shoulder again. She placed her hand on his neck and it felt warm, anchoring. "If you can't see that, you'll never make it through the Labyrinth. Go on. _Look_."

"It's literally just a wall," Tony said, because no matter how hard he tried, he could see nothing out of the ordinary. The wall didn't even have the eye-stock things on it. It was just like any other part of the wall he'd seen so far.

He stepped forward, sticking his arms out as he continued on. Just a wall. "See, there's nothing - whoa!"

Where there should have been a wall, Tony felt air. With a frown, Tony kept walking forward, but he didn't hit anything. "An illusion," he said, startled. Now that he was past the illusion's threshold, he could easily see the other corridor. His mind raced offering explanations, and he cursed himself for _not_ seeing the perception-based illusion that probably wasn't even magic. It looked to be using some of the same principles the Greeks used to make the Parthenon pillars all look the same size.

"See?" Natasha said smugly. "Never take anything for granted here."

"Point made," Tony said, looking down the corridors. "Which way do I go?

"Why do you think I know?" Natasha asked.

Turning to glare at someone so close to his neck wasn't worth the effort. Besides, she had helped him. Flying over to see the other side wouldn't necessarily find him a way either. "Okay," he said, swallowing. The illusion had distracted him enough that he felt more like himself, which was good. Rhodey and Pepper were depending on him.

He looked both ways again, then went right. That was what they said to do in mazes, right? Pick one direction and follow the wall until a dead end, then keep going that direction. And right was as good as any direction.

But speaking of not taking things for granted... "Are you staying here?" Tony asked hesitantly, trying to turn to look at Natasha. As comfortable as it was to have her hand on his neck, it made it very hard to see her.

"It's kind of boring here. I'll go with you for a while at least," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Should be fun, watching you flail about."

"Thanks, short stuff," Tony said sarcastically, but he was actually glad for the strange fairy's companionship. It made Tony feel a little less lost. "But we need to work on your definition of fun."

"It's always worked for me," Natasha said.

He took the next right, looking around as the Labyrinth opened up into a larger area with strangely shaped walls. Some had hands sticking out of them pointing in various directions. There was a creepy looking face on one of the walls, and a few more illusions that Tony had to look twice at, but at least this area seemed more promising. "This place is weird," Tony said, shaking his head.

"Did you expect a labyrinth to be normal?" Natasha asked.

Tony made a small noise of frustration, keeping his hand on the right wall as he continued. "Who even has a labyrinth anyway? Like, why would you want one? There's not a Minotaur around that eats virgin sacrifices, is there? Cause it'd be barking up the wrong tree with me."

"Why would you sacrifice virgins?" Natasha asked, disgusted. "Sounds like you're the weird one."

"That's just how the story goes!" Tony said, looking at the sun. It seemed much higher than it had been earlier. He bit his lip, then shook his head. "But why make a labyrinth like this in the first place? And seriously, what's with all the glitter around here?"

Natasha flew ahead at a leisurely pace and shrugged at him as she turned to face him. "The King inherited it. You'd have to ask the old king about the glitter. But the current one was originally from your world."

"He was?" Tony asked, stopping short. "But we don't have goblins."

"He was promised to the old Goblin King when he was a baby, but he was allowed to live in your world for part of his life. The magic of this place changes you if you stay long enough."

"I still maintain this place is weird," Tony said, wondering what it'd be like to suddenly be taken to a magical place and told you were the king of it. Much better than being kidnapped by terrorists, at any rate. "So if it changed him into a goblin, does that mean he's really ugly?" He hadn't been in the picture Loki had shown him, but that didn't mean anything.

Natasha snorted, and Tony started walking again. "Does it matter?"

"Not really," Tony said, seeing her point. Pretty or ugly, the good king was dead and Tony would have to kill the doppelganger who had taken his place. Maybe he should stop learning about the old king. It would only make him hesitate more later.

It couldn't hurt to learn about someone who was already dead, though, right? For some reason Tony couldn't explain, he was intrigued by this goblin king that came from his world.

He took the next right, scowling at the dead end before continuing along his wall. He hated mazes.

"He likes you," Natasha said.

That stopped Tony up short. "How would he know?" He was pretty sure he'd never met any goblins. That seems like the sort of thing one would remember.

"He was friends with Peggy and your father when they were younger. She solved the Labyrinth and the king tries to help in the other world when he can. She asked him to look after the Stark family when she realized they were in danger."

"Wait, he's been _watching_ me?" Tony asked. All those times when he'd fallen asleep in Rhodey's bed or when he'd destroyed the workshop when Howard went to the arctic rather than talk to Tony's professors about the 'damned-childish _science projects_ ' Tony worked so hard on. When he'd... a blush crept up on his face. Just how long has the King been watching, anyway? "That's fucked up and really creepy."

"It is a bit," Natasha agreed as they hit yet another dead end. Tony hit the wall in frustration, but kept going. Natasha ignored his outburst. "I'm a spy, so it's part of the job for me. If it helps, the king was very discreet. Something about morals and not being a voyeur. I'd have kept watching, but he didn't let me see anything."

Fairies were really _not_ what the stories made them out to be. "And if he was trying to help, why didn't he do anything when..." When his parents died. When he was tortured.

"An outsider attacked before he could warn Peggy, and it nearly cost him his life to speak with her. It was too late, and it exhausted him, so all he could do was wait for you to call out the phrase and keep watching. Though I think something must have been wrong if... He wouldn't have left you to whoever hurt you and your friends," Natasha said, and he caught a glimpse of worry and grief before it was packed away. "The outsider's done something. None of us can get into the castle, and too much has changed."

Tony's stomach dropped. If what Loki said were true, then that must have been when... Or maybe it was when the King first fought the outsider, which would explain why he hadn't helped. But... if that had been Tony's fault as well...

"You've seen him though," Natasha said. Tony couldn't tell if that was to reassure him or herself. "He often took the form of a white owl."

Tony bit his lip. He _had_ seen that owl a lot recently. Does that mean when it tried to attack his window, that was the fake King? And it had attacked him when he first got here too. That would make more sense.

"It's not going to work, you know," Natasha said.

"What's not?" Tony asked, sighing at another dead end.

"What you're doing, taking only the rights."

"It always works." It might not be the fastest and he was on a time limit, but he really couldn't afford to miss the right way either and get lost searching. He frowned as Natasha gestured behind him, turning around to see a much different configuration of walls than what had been there before. That couldn't have been an illusion, because he'd been keeping a mental map to try to find patterns. "Hey! The walls changed. That's not fair!"

Natasha landed on a nearby rock, her hands on her hips as she snorted. "What in life is?"

Tony punched the wall again, cursing as his hand stung. He had to _think_. He couldn't be useless like this. He could probably make something to jump the walls, but he didn't have any tools or materials. Plus there was no guarantee that it would work in this place. _Think_. He was a genius, so he should be able to come up with _something_. He had thirteen hours before Pepper stayed dead and Rhodey would be tortured or worse.

"You could try looking behind you," Natasha suggested.

"But that's just a dead-" Tony turned to the dead end, only to see two doors with some kind of shield on top of them. "That wasn't there before!" Tony said, turning back around to find his dead end had moved. "I _hate_ this place."

"It's not bad once you get used to it," Natasha said with a faint smile.

He walked towards the doors, watching them carefully for any sort of trick. One was red, one was blue, and neither were particularly inviting. "Where do these go?"

"Usually one leads to certain death," Natasha said cheerfully. "And given the fact that this place changes so often, why are you asking me?"

"Have I mentioned I hate this place?"

"A few times," Natasha said.

"Can't you use some kind of fairy dust?" Tony asked, walking to the red door.

"I can still bite you," Natasha said, obviously unimpressed, though Tony thought he caught a hint of fondness in her voice. That was new.

"I'm not opposed to a bit of biting so long as it's not visible above the-" He was just about to push on the door when a head appeared from behind the shield. He yelped, stumbling back until he tripped and landed rather unceremoniously on his ass.

A woman's head was on the red door. She had long, dark hair with bangs that didn't disguise her unsettling eyes - they were brown, but they glowed red every few seconds. The blue shield door had a man's head on it now, but he had short, white hair and blue eyes. At least his didn't glow.

Looking over at Natasha, Tony was surprised to find she looked furious. There was also something else there - grief? Tony wasn't really sure, but it scared him a little.

"Natasha?" he asked, but she didn't look up from the two heads on the doors.

"One of us will always tell the truth, and one of us will always lie. You may ask only one of us one question about what lies beyond these doors," the female head said. She had an accent Tony couldn't place, and her voice was soft and mesmerizing. Timed with her glowing red eyes, Tony was officially freaked out.

"Natasha?" he asked again.

"You have to solve the riddle," she said simply, her eyes never leaving the woman's face. The fury in her eyes didn't fade.

"Are you okay?" he asked uncertainly.

"We'll fix this," Natasha promised, though Tony got the feeling she wasn't talking to him. Then she looked sad, flying up to land on Tony's shoulder. "Come on, kitten. Solve the riddle."

"Are you - Hey! I'm not a kitten!" Tony said indignantly when the name caught up to him.

"Then you shouldn't use so many nicknames," Natasha replied calmly.

Tony craned his head so he could see her, but she was looking straight ahead instead of meeting his eyes. He didn't like just leaving it like that, but he didn't know what else to do. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He saw Natasha cross her arms in front of her. She looked and sounded calm, but there was something that was just off enough that Tony wasn't so sure. "Solving the Labyrinth is our best bet. We can't do anything to help her now. But when I find the one responsible for using Pietro's face..."

He stood there indecisively for a moment, before carefully nudging her closer to his neck. He felt her start, and he got a small pinch for his trouble, but he ignored that and tilted his head slightly so that her hair touched his cheek. He could hear Natasha's breath as she leaned into him, and her small sigh.

One small arm wrapped around his neck while the other pushed his head away. "Riddle, kitten," she said, this time the fondness less hidden. "You have to solve it."

"Kitten is an undignified nickname," he protested as he went over what the woman in the door had said.

"Falling on your ass and squeaking was undignified. I'm just matching," Natasha said.

She was, unfortunately, still too close to his neck to properly glare at.

Tony ignored her, going over the words a third and fourth time. "I _hate_ riddles. Who even uses riddles to find out what's behind a door? It's stupid."

"The King actually disarmed most of the traps years ago. Riddles were how the Labyrinth _used to_ work," Natasha said. "But while the King is hurt, it must be reverting back to its original form in an attempt to protect him."

Tony muttered about goblins, magic, and other things he really hated about this place under his breath as he finally started to consider the problem. One always lied, and one always told the truth, but he could only ask one of them one question. It was so unnecessarily complicated. It wasn't like he could ask one of them who was lying, because that would use his one question _and_ he didn't know if it'd be a lie or the truth.

Biting his lip, he tossed aside several possible questions, then looked back to see the way that he'd come was still a dead end. No other way out then. "I really _hate_ this place," Tony swore. "It doesn't - Oh!"

Tony walked up to the woman, feeling more confident than he had since he'd entered the Labyrinth. Her glowing red eyes made him pause and think over what he was going to say. He only had one chance at this.

Natasha touched his cheek, stroking it lightly. "Steve always talks about how clever you are. I can't help you on this, but you can figure it out."

"Who's Steve?" Tony said, trying, and failing, to push down the blush at the praise. Only Rhodey ever called him smart and meant it. Sure the professors buttered him up, but they just wanted more grant money, and Howard certainly never... Tony never got used to hearing a compliment that someone actually meant.

"He's the Goblin King," Natasha answered.

"Oh, of _course_. Why wouldn't the Goblin King be named _Steve_? Who's next, an elf named Bob?" Tony muttered under his breath.

Natasha laughed, and it was a nice sound. "Just ask your question. You've solved it, haven't you?"

He nodded, taking a deep breath before meeting the woman's creepy gaze directly. "Would he say that this door leads to certain death?" he asked, pointing to the blue door.

The woman didn't answer right away, and Tony forced himself not to fidget. Obie always said he was too soft and that he had to keep his chin up when he wasn't feeling confident. Bluff his way out of everything, like that. Obie...

Obie had tried to have him killed.

Tony swallowed, but kept his chin up. Just because it came from a crappy source didn't mean the advice wasn't good.

"Yes," the woman said finally.

Tony let out a breath, grinning broadly. "Then this door is safe!"

"Oh?" Natasha said, but she was grinning as she fluttered off his shoulder.

"Because if the woman always lies, then she would lie about what he would say is the safe door. But if she tells the truth, then he'd be lying, and she'd say what he would really say, which is always a lie," Tony explained excitedly, waving his hands about. Natasha was actually _listening_ , which felt better than Tony realized.

"Alright, genius," she said. "Enough being clever and open the door."

She never looked at the man, but she flew closer to the woman's head before Tony could open it. Natasha brushed the woman's bangs out of her eyes with a tender expression. "We'll fix this," she promised again, then impatiently motioned for Tony to continue.

"What are we fixing?" Tony asked as he opened it, glad he didn't have to look at the woman's eyes anymore.

"You want to get home to help your friends," Natasha said simply. "I want the same thing."

That was so very informative. "Okay, it'll be a piece of cake then," Tony said sarcastically as he stepped forward. "So how are-"

Tony screamed as the ground beneath him opened up. He was falling!

"Tony!" he heard Natasha yell before the panel closed again and Tony tried to reach the walls.

"Help!" he shouted, trying to scramble for a grip. Then he yelped as _the wall started to grip him back_. "What the-"

There were _hands_ in the wall, all of them grabbing and slowing his descent. They were also holding him prone. Tony forced down his panic at the hands on his shoulders. He couldn't think of cold water right now. There was light, though Tony couldn't tell where it was coming from. He focused on that and not...

He yelped again as a pair of hands appeared in front of him. They were dark black, not like Rhodey's skin color, but black as the walls. He flinched as the hands started to move, closing his eyes against the strike.

No blow came. Instead, there was laughter, and his ears burned as he tried to stop trembling. "Look at him, all scared of the dark."

Tony opened his eyes to see that a couple pairs of hands had come together to form a _face_ , complete with eyes and mouth. And the face was talking. "He ain't gonna get very far if he's this scared!"

"I'm n-not scared," Tony lied, swallowing back bile as the hands on his shoulders moved. "Just let me go!"

Another face, this time with two hands that formed a mustache, formed to his left. "He said let him go!"

"Well, in that case-"

Tony started to fall again and he yelled, "Stop! Help!"

The hands grabbed him again, and a new pair of hands formed a different face. "Make up your mind!"

"What are you?" Tony asked, wincing as his voice wobbled. It was all he could do not to thrash and kick at the hands keeping him from falling.

"What are you, stupid? We're helping hands!"

Tony gaped at the hands for a moment, then burst into slightly hysterical laughter. Because this was his life now, creepy as fuck hands that grabbed him in the dark and who talked to him by forming faces. "Of course you are. Why wouldn't you be?"

"Well?" one of the faces asked.

"Well what?"

"Which way? You wanna go up or down?" the one with the mustache asked.

Tony looked up, and frowned. The way he'd come had been sealed and there was no guarantee he'd have a second chance at this question. Dying by being crushed against the roof wasn't something that sounded appealing. Natasha could find him again, couldn't she?

"D-Down, I guess, since I'm already headed that way," Tony said, unable to see down with the way they were holding him. He hadn't chosen the door that led to certain death, so it couldn't be that bad.

"He said down!" one of the hand-faces said.

The other hands laughed, which was something Tony wished he hadn't heard. This was going to give him nightmares for life. "Was that wrong?" Tony asked.

"Too late now!" another hand-face said cheerfully as Tony started to be passed down.

"No, wait!" Tony shouted, but this time they didn't stop, and they kept laughing in those terrible voices. He screamed as they dropped him completely and he hit the ground a few seconds later.

It hurt, but Tony felt the shock of it more than anything. The voices and the light cut out abruptly as the door snapped shut.

It was dark. Pitch dark. Not even Hydra had turned off _all_ the lights. The hands had been holding him...

He wasn't captured by Hydra. He was going back to save Rhodey and Pepper. He swallowed hard, trying to push down his panic as he started shaking. He couldn't break down like he had with Natasha. He had to find a way out.

Hissing as he pushed himself to his feet, Tony stumbled forward. At least his legs weren't broken, though he couldn't feel much of his body beyond a tingling sensation in his arms and legs. That couldn't be good, could it? Fuck, he was screwing this up. He always screwed things up. And Pierce would be back and-

"Easy," a voice said. Tony yelped as a hand grabbed his arm and steadied him.

He automatically tried to throw a punch, not even aiming but desperately hoping to hit something. But another hand caught his fist, holding him still as Tony tried to struggle. "Let go! Let me go!"

"I won't hurt you," the voice said.

"W-who are you?" Tony asked, still trying to break free. "You know what, I don't care. Let me _go_."

"I'm not anyone important," the voice - a man - said. "Please stop struggling. I don't want to hurt you."

"Then let me go!"

"Okay," the man said. "But stop moving so that you don't fall back if I do."

It was harder than Tony expected to follow the order. Every bone in his body screamed to move, to get away and hide. His heart pounded in his ear. He tried to take deep breaths. He forced himself to stay still.

The hands holding him let go.

Now it was easier to breathe. It was still dark, but he wasn't afraid of the dark. Starks weren't afraid of anything, certainly not of the dark. His dad told him that all the time when he was younger, but all that he'd done since coming here was panic. So fucking _pathetic_. He had to move. He had to get away from whoever this was. But he couldn't...

It was so dark.

"Can I hug you?" the voice said, sounding distressed. It quickly changed to embarrassed. "I mean... that wasn't... You're shaking and..."

The voice devolved into a string of curses as Tony realized he had his arms wrapped tightly around himself. This was crazy. He couldn't even _see_ whoever this was. He could be an axe murder, or a monster, or Hydra, or...

"Please?" the voice asked, returning to distressed. "I don't know how else to help you."

"Why the hell not?" Tony said, bracing himself. The voice sounded kind at least, even if it was a monster. It wasn't like he could stop an axe murderer or Hydra like this anyway.

"Okay," the man said. Tony heard him move closer. "I'm going to touch you now."

If Tony had been in a better frame of mind, he'd have joked about the innuendo, especially given how flustered the voice had seemed at the prospect of a hug earlier. It was all he could do not to struggle again when he felt a hesitant hand on his arm. He jumped, but he didn't strike or curl further in on himself. "Go 'head," he grit out, when no other contact was made.

Tony found himself enveloped in a bear hug, surrounded by the smell of cinnamon and leather. It was a nice combination, and along with the warmth that surrounded him - whoever this guy was, he was like a furnace - Tony slowly relaxed.

"Close your eyes," the man said as he rubbed circles into Tony's back. He had big hands, and a very firm chest. Tony wondered what he looked like. He focused on imagining that rather than that this guy could be from Hydra.

He flushed with shame, forcing himself not to clutch at the man's strange shirt and pushing away as soon as he was able to. If Dad saw him like... Well, Howard would never see Tony again, and it wasn't like Tony gave a damn about what his father thought, not anymore.

He missed the warmth almost immediately, but silently told himself it was better this way.

"Are you alright now?" the man asked, with, of all things, a slight Brooklyn accent that Tony could place now that he wasn't freaking out quite so much. Just what Tony needed: a monster from Brooklyn.

"Fine," Tony snapped. "I don't need - I'm fine."

"Okay," the man said, though he sounded sad.

"Where am I?" Tony demanded. He needed to get his head straight if he was going to save Pepper and Rhodey.

"An oubliette," the man said, his voice apologetic. "The Labyrinth has tons of them. But they haven't been used in years, so all the lights got turned off."

"What the hell is an oubliette?"

The melancholy sound in the man's voice returned. "A place to put forgotten things, I guess you'd say."

"That why you're down here?" Tony sneered. He shouldn't have said that. It was needlessly cruel to someone who had only been trying to help him. He shouldn't have needed the help though. He should have been stronger.

"Sometimes it's good to be forgotten," the man said.

"That's one of the most depressing things I've ever heard." Though Tony wouldn't have minded being out of the spotlight himself for a while... some place where no one recognized him and followed his every move just because he was the Stark heir.

"I've gotten used to it."

Damn, this guy was downright _cheery_. He was no one important, getting used to being forgotten... Tony swallowed, then pushed his shoulders back. _He_ wasn't here to be forgotten. "You know a way out of here?"

"There's a door on the left that can lead you out, but it's on the ground right now. Still, it should work if you pick it up and open it."

"Great, more magic," Tony muttered. He _really_ hated this place.

He took a hesitant step away from the voice, but his foot caught on something. He nearly lost his balance, but the man's arms braced him, returning some of the warmth Tony missed. He didn't shake the mystery man off this time. "Who are you?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious of how close they were in the dark.

"My name doesn't matter," the man said, still not letting Tony go. "Though I suppose you could say I'm in charge around here."

"Then I'm calling you Ozzy," Tony said.

"Ozzy?"

"Osbourne. Or Ozymandias. Take your pick," Tony said. He favored Osbourne himself, but if the guy was going to go on about being forgotten and in charge, the latter worked too. Maybe the guy was too humble to technically be Ozymandias, but honestly Tony wasn't too bothered if his literary references made sense. He'd passed his English classes, but he still resented having to take them.

"A forgotten king," the man murmured, completely ignoring the first suggestion. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "Guess that works well enough. There's a light switch on the wall to your right. I can lead you to it."

Tony exhaled sharply. "There's - you can turn on the lights?"

"This way," the man said, tugging on Tony's arm. "It needs two people, or I'd have done it earlier. Watch your step."

"How can you see down here?" Tony asked, biting his lip as he stepped forward. The man kept one hand on his arm and the other wrapped around Tony's shoulder. Now that Tony wasn't panicking as much, he could tell the man was much bigger than him, build-wise. Given the firmness of the man's chest, Tony wondered if he was a body builder.

"Long years of practice," the man joked, his voice low and soothing. Tony hadn't been sharing his bed recently while he had his crush on Pepper, and then with the funeral... Well, he hadn't been laid for a few months. He blamed _that_ entirely for how the man's proximity and low laugh sent a shiver through him that he tried to suppress. Either that, or it was the adrenaline high from his panic attack. Though getting turned on was a better use of his adrenaline than panicking, come to think.

"Are you cold?" Ozzy asked, amusement replaced by concern.

"I'm fine," Tony said, glad for the dark that hid his blush.

He didn't even know what the guy looked like. He was in the middle of a Goblin King's Labyrinth and he'd already met a fairy and a dwarf, so this guy could look like anything. Tony wondered if he would mind if the man - if he was a man at all - looked horrible. His voice was nice, and his movements smooth and graceful even as Tony stumbled along. Was that why he hid down here? That was usually why people stayed in dark places in all the stories.

Finally, Ozzy pulled him to a stop, the hand on Tony's arm tracing its way downward to his wrist, his fingers lingering. "Ozzy?" Tony asked as his hand was being pulled upwards, suddenly feeling far more vulnerable than he had even when he'd been scared.

"I'm sorry I can't do more for you," Ozzy said.

"Finding the light is good," Tony said, feeling awkward. "You can-"

He felt soft breath on the back of his hand, then a pair of lips caressing it in a gentle kiss. Tony's heart skipped, then started to pound as if making up for its misstep.

"Um," Tony said intelligently. He knew he was usually smoother than this. Except with Pepper. He always failed to be smooth around Pepper. And apparently now Ozzy too. He hadn't really been very smooth around Rhodey either, but Tony was refusing to follow this thread of thought because he really needed to say something. "Are you - I mean -"

"Remember, the door is on the ground, but you can fix it," Ozzy said, the words close to Tony's ear. He pulled Tony's hand away until Tony felt a wall. Stone? It felt like stone. What little of Tony's senses that weren't being taken by Ozzy's proximity told him the wall was probably stone. "Close your eyes."

"What? What are-" Ozzy pressed Tony's hand against the wall and Tony yelped as part of it decompressed and the lights came on. The sharp brightness brought tears to his eyes and he swore, rubbing them as he waited for his eyes to adjust. It took longer than he'd have liked. "Ozzy, that was _not_ a good enough warning to-"

His eyesight was still blurry, but when Tony looked around, there was no one there. There was certainly no one holding him steady anymore. "Ozzy?"

Either the guy was invisible and no longer responding, or he'd disappeared.

"Fucking _magic_ ," Tony muttered. Rubbing at his eyes again, Tony shook his head and stared at his hand when he could finally see it. It was almost like he could still feel the phantom lips pressed against his skin. He brought his hand up to his chest and rubbed at it absently. It didn't stop him from feeling the ghost-like lips.

At least he felt undeniably better with the lights on, which made him flush with shame this time. Dad would -

Nope, still dead. Howard really didn't matter anymore.

Pushing those thoughts away, Tony looked around the room now that he could see it. It was fairly Spartan - stone walls that were a dark brown color that didn't look like any rock Tony had ever seen and the ever present _glitter_ that the Labyrinth seemed smothered in. It was lit by candles, of all things, which made Tony double-take with the indentation on the wall he'd pressed, then wished he hadn't. Magical fucking light switches. Of course.

There were a few places to sit if he wanted to, but Tony looked at the floor instead. He didn't see any broken doors, but there was a pile of stuff in the center that looked promising.

He glanced down at his hand one more time. Tony picked up girls and guys all the time. He'd been propositioned more often than not too. Just because a guy held him in the dark and kissed his hand was no reason to get flustered. No one had ever kissed his hand like that before, but Tony resolved to keep his cool if he met Ozzy again.

Giving one last huff, Tony knelt down, brushing away some of the dust on the pile in the center. He coughed as he waved it away, pulling off some old cloth to find a door knob. Pulling that out took a bit more effort, but once he had it he studied the door. It was small and made of wood, with no hinges to speak of, but the door knob turned. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this to fix it?" Tony muttered, looking around. There were a few indents along the wall that looked like they could have a door on it, but they were just that: walls. Very solid, very hard, and impossible to walk through.

Unless he was taking that for granted?

Setting the door back on the floor, Tony walked up to one of the indentations. It was pretty shallow, not even an inch deep. Just enough for a door frame. He held out his hands as he walked forward, but immediately hit stone. He scowled, feeling along the wall to see if he was missing anything. Then he gave a frustrated shout and kicked it, which garnered him a smarting foot.

Ignoring how his foot hurt, Tony ran a hand through his hair and looked back at the door. Ozzy had said Tony needed to _fix_ the door, but how was he supposed to do that? There weren't even any hinges on it!

He went back to the door and picked it up. It was bulky, but not too hard for him to lift. He searched for anything he might be taking for granted about it, then back at the indentation that looked about the right size for the door. It couldn't be as simple as putting the door in the indentation, could it? "You've got to be kidding me," he said, feeling like he was in one of those old Looney Tunes cartoons.

Well, there was only one way to find out. Tony didn't know if this would work, but he put the door in the indentation, making sure it lined up despite how foolish he felt. If this didn't work, he'd feel like an idiot.

He looked at the door in trepidation as he stepped back. Then he squared his shoulders and turned the knob, pulling it out like a normal door.

He was attacked as soon as it opened. Tony yelped, then coughed at the dust, covering his head. When the noise stopped, he opened his eyes and waved away the rest of the dust.

"Seriously?" he asked, staring into a supply closet. He kicked at the duster that had attacked him, his cheeks burning. He really hoped Ozzy was actually gone and not just invisible.

He shoved the door shut with a bang, surprised when the handle came off in his hand. There was another hole on the other side of the door, which Tony could have sworn had not been there five seconds ago, and this place was absolutely ridiculous. He missed logic and things that made _sense_. If he ever met the person who created the Labyrinth, he would make a bullet list of reasons why this place sucked.

Sighing, Tony shoved the knob in the other slot and prepared himself for another cascade of cleaning supplies. He threw open the door and jumped back, ready for anything.

Almost anything. "Oof!" he said as a black and red dark thing hit him straight on the chest, knocking him back. He fell on his ass, though thankfully not very hard, but he was pretty sure his coccyx was bruised.

"Tony!"

Tony blinked, then looked down at the little fairy who was brushing herself off. "Natasha?" Tony said, smiling broadly. He closed his eyes as he carefully hugged her. It was awkward due to their sizes, but he didn't care. He was glad to have a friendly face back, and he was more relieved than he wanted to admit that she had found him.

" _Never_ say the phrase about cake here," she said, flying up to get a better look at him when he finally let her go. "It's bad luck. And you look like shit."

"Thanks," he said dryly. "And - hey! You attacked me!"

"I was ramming the door since it wouldn't open," Natasha replied. "I wasn't expecting the door to open just when I got to it."

"I had to fix the door before it'd open," Tony said as he stood up, rubbing his tail bone. It was better than thinking about magic. "You came to find me? I - Ow!"

He glared at her after she moved away from his ear that she'd shocked. "And never say _down_ ," she told him, glaring right back at him, though there was a tenseness about her eyes that wasn't anger.

"Figured that out," Tony muttered, hunching his shoulders and trying to forget about the helping hands.

Natasha's expression softened, then she landed on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here," she said, placing a hand on his cheek.

It was nice, having her this close. It reminded him he wasn't alone in this weird place, even if he didn't need anyone else to solve it. Brushing himself off, Tony carefully peered out the now open door. When he saw it was just a corridor, Tony couldn't get out of the room fast enough. If he never went back there, it would be too soon.

"Were the lights on when you got here?" Natasha asked suddenly.

Tony froze for a moment, then forced himself to keep going. He wasn't afraid of the dark. "No," he said, because he could talk about it. Easy as pie. "I had to - Ozzy helped me turn them on."

"Ozzy?" Natasha asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Some guy who was down here. I couldn't see him though, because of the dark. He said he was in charge, but he wouldn't say his name and he disappeared as soon as the light came on," Tony said, trying to stay clear of his panic attack and the kiss on his hand. Natasha's growing anger was something to focus on, at least. "Is he bad?"

"Don't trust him," Natasha said curtly. "He's not in charge. He's probably the outsider who hurt the King, if he's not giving you his name."

"Oh," Tony said, rubbing his hand again. "He didn't seem that bad?"

Natasha flew until she was eye-level with Tony. "He's an accomplished liar. 'Silver-tongue' doesn't even begin to describe him. Whatever he did, Tony, you can't trust him."

His cheeks burned a little for foolishly falling for the act. And Ozzy had been with him when he'd been scared too. "Next time I'll keep that in mind then," he grumbled.

Natasha nodded. "Be careful here. Not everyone or everything is what they seem."

"I'll keep that in mind, Navi," Tony said bitterly. "Let's just get out of here."

Natasha pat his cheek before flying down the hall. "This way, kitten."

Tony stuck his tongue out at her, but took her point. It was probably a good thing Natasha seemed to miss that reference, as he probably wouldn't have gotten off so lightly otherwise. "So this outsider, what did he do?" Tony asked as he followed her.

"He tried to kill the King," Natasha said, her wings fluttering faster than strictly necessary to keep her in flight. "He's the reason the Labyrinth has been waking up again, and when he hit the King's shield with his magic, it had... unintentional consequences."

Or he killed the king and took the king's place, making the changes afterwards if what Loki said were true. It made more sense than magic hitting a shield, at any rate. The way she said it piqued Tony's interest. "What kind of consequences?"

Natasha looked back at him, opening her mouth to say something. Then her eyes went wide. "Run!"

Tony looked behind him, freezing in place. There was a circular board that spanned the whole corridor that had sharp knives and other pointy objects slowly spinning around as it crept closer to them. It didn't look friendly.

" _Run_ ," Natasha said, flying close and shocking his ear.

Tony may have needed to be told twice, but he got with the picture after that. His legs took off after the fairy as fast as he could. "What is that thing?"

"The cleaners," Natasha replied.

"How the hell does that thing clean?"

"Takes care of unwanted or lost humans or fairies down here," Natasha said grimly.

"That kind of cleaning sucks!" he yelled, glancing back to check on its progress. It was getting closer, and so was the end of the corridor. There was a grate up ahead, but when Tony pulled on it, it was far too firmly embedded for him to move.

"Over here!" Natasha said.

She was pushing on a part of the wall that didn't look any different from the rest. Tony looked back at the cleaners, then shook his head. He really hoped this was one of those cases where things weren't what they seemed.

Tony pushed on the wall, then banged on it, glad to hear the hollow echo. He could feel it start to give, but not enough. Finally he backed up and charged the wall, using his shoulder like people did in the movies. It fell forward, taking Tony with it as he let out a surprised yelp. The movies never mentioned how much that _hurt_.

He looked up to see the cleaners pass by without halting, two ghostly peddals moving up and down behind the board with the knives. It creeped Tony out, watching the peddals move by themselves as the thing pushed onward without regard to those who had narrowly escaped it.

After watching it move out of sight to make sure it wasn't coming back for them, Tony caught his breath and flopped on his back. "I hate this place," he said, closing his eyes.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," Natasha replied.

He groaned, pushing himself up on his elbows as he tried to ignore the bruise that was no doubt growing on his shoulder. "How many people have solved the Labyrinth before? I mean, what odds am I working with here?" Numbers were comforting. He could deal with crunching numbers, and he desperately needed something he could deal with right now.

"Peggy solved it when it was benign, but she did it without help since none of us had realized she had stumbled in. When it was all up and running? One human has solved it before," Natasha said, filling Tony with less than optimistic enthusiasm. "Her name was Sarah."

Sarah. That was a nice name. "Why'd she come here?" he asked, curious in spite of himself. It was better than thinking about Hydra or torture.

"The old king, Jareth, was a cruel master to this world," Natasha said as she dusted herself off. "He stole her baby brother and she had to solve the Labyrinth to get him back. And she did. It was much harder back then too."

Jareth. The first actual proper-sounding goblin name Tony had heard. Still, Tony was glad he wasn't dealing with Jareth. He'd take unfitting names like Steve any day over someone who made this Labyrinth harder. "You knew her?" he asked as he stood up and rubbed his shoulder. It hurt, but it wasn't too bad, all considered.

"She solved the Labyrinth long before I was here," Natasha said, checking him over critically. She was apparently satisfied he wasn't too hurt as she nodded at him. "Unfortunately for her, Jareth was still obsessed. He loved her, but it was twisted. Not really love at all, given how far he went. He found someone weaker than Sarah to force into the Labyrinth. Someone he knew couldn't solve it. And that someone risked her child's life."

"Creeps who won't take no for an answer," Tony muttered, looking around. There was a ladder at the far end of their current tunnel that looked promising. He was all for finally getting out of this place. "That way?" he asked.

Natasha looked where he pointed and nodded. "That should take you up," she said, flying to the lid on top. "Should open."

Tony's heart beat a little faster. He'd see the sky soon. Skies are never pitch dark. "What happened to the baby?" he asked, trying to keep himself from meandering into a panic attack.

Natasha flew down and landed on his shoulder, taking up a comforting space by his neck. "Jareth learned not to mess with a concerned mother. Even though the baby was already part-goblin from being in this place too long, she forced Jareth to give him back, at least until the baby died a natural death. Jareth assumed that would be soon, since the child would be sickly without completing the transformation. He didn't count on Sarah's stubbornness and will to be inherited by the child."

"Serves him right," Tony said, climbing the ladder. He envied Natasha being able to fly up or catch a ride on his shoulder. "So the kid lived?"

"At least until a war happened on your world. He fought in it and died. Then he came here and took over from Jareth. He shut down most of the Labyrinth and made things a lot better."

"Wait, you mean 'Steve' was the kid?" Tony asked. That at least explained the non-goblin name. He pushed at the lid as he got to the top, grateful that it gave away easily. He felt warmer as the sunlight drifted in, never so glad to see natural light in his life.

"That's right," Natasha said with a look of gentle love that Tony didn't think was meant for him. "Steve became the King of the Goblins."

A part of him felt a pang at that. After all Steve had lived through, this outsider that Natasha and Loki talked about had killed him. The thought of it made him inexplicably sad, though he couldn't have said why.

Pulling himself into the light, he looked around. The castle looked closer, and now instead of mostly stone walls, the walls some sort of hedge. He wondered if Jareth had made this section more like a garden, or if Steve had. Steve sounded like he'd been a nice goblin.

"You okay?" Natasha asked.

He couldn't tell her. Another part of him ached for Natasha, who didn't know that the king she so obviously adored was dead. This sudden melancholy wasn't doing him any favors either. Maybe he could change the subject? "So if Sarah solved the Labyrinth before you came here, where are you from?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him, but she thankfully allowed the question. "Sarah solved the Labyrinth long before I was born," Natasha said. "But I lived in your world before I came here."

"Really?" Tony asked, surprised.

Natasha stopped, hovering in place. Her head was down, and she looked at her hands.

"Natasha?" he asked.

"Let's go."

"Hey, wait! Natasha! Do you even know where we're going?" he asked as he followed after her. "What's wrong? Did I-"

Natasha stilled completely, looking straight ahead as she motioned for Tony to stop. "Okay, the past is off limits," Tony babbled. "I get it. Are you-"

"Stop talking!" Natasha hissed.

Tony was surprisingly hurt by her tone. He hadn't realized she'd gotten so far under his skin and she wasn't... she wasn't even _looking_ at him, ignoring him completely. Well, he knew that feeling, and how to react to it. Anger. "Fine. I don't need to deal with fairies who-"

" _Quiet_ ," she said, flying closer and putting her hand on his lips. He was about to tell her off when there was a loud roar that startled them both, followed by foot steps that he could now hear since he wasn't huffing.

"Hide," Natasha ordered crisply.

"Where?" he whispered, looking around frantically. There was the room below, but Tony froze as he thought about having to go back down there.

Natasha pushed him back. For such a small fairy, she was certainly very strong, and he bit back a yelp in surprise as he tumbled into the hedge. It scratched his face and hands, but the bush was deep enough to cover him before he hit the wall behind it. He was, for once, actually glad Loki had given him long sleeves. The flimsy shirt and vest didn't do much, but they at least protected him from the uncomfortable branches.

She kept her wings carefully folded against her as she perched on one of the outer branches. Even still, Tony reached out to protect those gossamer wings, but she warned him off. "Stay here," she said.

"Stay - Wait!" Tony said as she flew away. The loud roar sounded again, chilling him to the core. Whatever made that noise had to be big. And Natasha was flying out there to face it alone.

"Clint," he heard Natasha say, her cold voice not too far off at least. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to treat your best friend?" Clint asked. The dwarf from earlier?

"You've been trying to _kill_ me," Natasha said, her voice tight with anger. "And you don't normally hang out with the _Exiles_."

The way she said the word led Tony to believe it wasn't a good thing. He wondered what one did to be an exile in a place like this? Given that Goblin Steve sounded like the best thing since sliced bread, he was willing to bet it had to be pretty bad. He couldn't let her face them alone, could he?

"Where's the human, Nat?" Clint asked.

"Dunno," Natasha replied. "Why don't you go look for him yourself?"

He heard the soft clank of weapons being drawn, and Tony bit his lip. Natasha had said to stay put.

"Tell us, Natasha, or this won't be pleasant for either of us," Clint said as if he were carrying on a normal conversation and not threatening the woman he had just called his best friend.

"Go to hell."

"Remember when we met all those years ago?" Clint asked, his voice moving closer. "I should have killed you like Steve ordered. You really are nothing but a murdering monster."

Tony's eyes widened.

"You're not getting a second shot," Natasha growled. Tony recognized the carefully subdued tone of her voice well enough. That was the sound of betrayal.

"Don't need one," the dwarf said. "Kill her."

"No!" Tony shouted, pushing forward and earning a particularly nasty scratch on his throat. He cared more about getting between the fairy and someone who was most definitely not a friend to her. "Don't hurt her!"

"Tony!" Natasha was facing him, her eyes as sharp as her voice in warning, but Tony pushed his way out and came face to face with the crowd.

Clint was there, with ten... well, he didn't know what goblins actually looked like, but if Tony were to guess, they would look like that. They were big and ugly, carrying a mix of swords and guns. Several had long sticks with little monsters on the end that had bigger teeth than the rest of their body. That... didn't look good, actually.

"Hey, kid. We're here to take you to the Goblin City," Clint said, his eery blue eyes piercing through him.

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen," Tony said, backing away.

"Run, you idiot," Natasha yelled, diving viciously at the closest goblin. Electricity shot from her wrists and the goblin screamed.

"I'm not-"

"I can handle this. _Go_."

Tony hesitated one more moment to watch her take down a second goblin. Then five of them turned to him.

" _Run_!"

He ran, dodging around the hedges as fast as he could. Natasha might be small, but she was taking them down better than he could. He heard the clanking behind him as he turned another corner, hoping that it wouldn't lead to a dead end.

He heard the loud roar again. It sounded much closer now. Cursing softly, he kept running towards it. If it was like everything else in this freaky place, it either wasn't what it seemed, or it was out to kill Tony. It was a fifty/fifty chance here.

The roar was _definitely_ louder now, probably right around the next corner. He made a mad dash for it, only to skid to a halt once he got there.


	3. Chapter Three

The roar was _definitely_ louder now, probably right around the next corner. He made a mad dash for it, only to skid to a halt once he got there.

Okay, wow. Big, mean, and green.

In the small clearing was a massive green monster that had to be three or four times Tony's size. It wore a pair of purple pants, which was a great fashion statement as far as Tony was concerned, but still unexpected. The ropes, though, those weren't going to be on the cover of _Cosmo_ anytime soon. The beast roared again, tugging at the ropes furiously.

With the goblins closing in on him, Tony didn't have much of a choice. "Please don't eat me," he said, ducking behind the monster and starting to pull at the knots. "Please not be what you seem to be," Tony continued, jerking back as the monster thrashed. "Just, one thing in this damned place, go my way. I'm trying to help! Don't try to hit me!"

He reached in again to the knot, ignoring his fear as the monster roared again, this time making Tony's ears ring. "I'm trying to set you free!" Tony shouted, putting all of his weight behind it. "I'm here to help so don't-"

He yelped as one knot came loose and the monster nearly knocked Tony back in its efforts to break free.

"You sure you wanna do that, kid?" Clint asked from the clearing's entrance. He kept a good distance from the green monster and flinched as the monster sighted him and snarled. "I swear to you, I'm just here to get you to the city. That's what you want, right?"

"Yeah, and you're also gonna kill my friend," Tony replied coldly, then added with much more cheer as he yanked at another knot. "Besides, he's angrier at you!"

Tony ducked under the creature's arm, wondering what kind of material this rope was made out of to hold such a beast. It didn't feel like anything else he'd touched, and Tony had worked with a lot of materials. He was pretty sure no normal rope would actually hold jolly green either.

"Really, kid, that's not a good-"

The last knot came free and Tony fell back, a loud roar nearly bursting his ears. The green monster was off like a shot when an arrow hit it straight in the chest and harmlessly bounced off.

Tony heard vague shouting over the ringing in his ears, and he closed his eyes against the sense of vertigo. It wasn't like he could do much against a giant, green, rage-filled monster, so it was all he could do to wait it out and see if his plan worked or if he was screwed.

It was a few minutes before he realized it was quiet, and the lack of noise was almost as deafening as the roar. Rubbing his ears, Tony opened his eyes.

He found himself staring right into a very angry green face. Well, fuck.

"Hi," he said nervously. "Thanks for saving me. So like, you're not gonna eat me, are you? Cause I got you free from those ropes and I know you saving me probably makes us even, but I really don't want to be eaten. I mean, I hear it kind of sucks and-"

The monster roared. It wasn't as loud, but Tony definitely felt the lung power.

"Okay?" Tony asked, when nothing more happened.

The monster stayed still, its only movement blinking at Tony as its nostrils flared.

"Okay," Tony repeated, more to himself than to the monster. He was going to assume that was good. "Cool. No eating. That's great. Hey, can you talk?"

"Hulk talks," the monster said, its... well, his voice was deep and gravely.

"Hulk? Is that your name?"

"Hulk name," the monster - Hulk - replied.

"I'm Tony," he said, holding out his hand. He pulled it back when Hulk just stared at it and shrugged. "So, uh, you live here in the Labyrinth?"

"Tony," Hulk said with a snort.

"Yup, that's me."

"Tony not scared?" Hulk asked.

"A little bit," Tony admitted. Hulk was pretty imposing, all said and done. "But things aren't what they seem here, right? And you haven't eaten me yet, plus you saved me, so we could be friends." There were plenty of advantages to having a big, green monster on his side, after all.

Hulk narrowed his eyes and huffed. Tony could feel the breath mussing his hair as Hulk loomed over him, but he stayed his ground. Hulk had saved him. He had to believe in that.

"Tony want Hulk as friend?" Hulk asked finally.

Hulk roared again, but this time Tony didn't flinch. "Yup," Tony said, smiling up at him. "But, uh, green bean, think you can stop roaring in my ear? I'd appreciate it."

"Tony not scared," Hulk said again, this time as a statement.

"You shouldn't be scared of your friends, right? So we're good," Tony replied.

"Hulk friend," the creature said, an almost awed tone in his voice.

Tony wondered how many people bothered to see if the monster was friendly or not. Certainly not the idiots who had been tying him up. It had to be lonely, having everyone scared of you. Tony knew a bit of what that was like from before he met Rhodey. No one knew what to do with a child that was smarter than you, and who wants to be friends with someone who is smarter than them? It wasn't like he had a charming personality either. "Yeah," Tony said, patting one of the big green shoulders. "Tony friend."

Hulk looked at Tony's hand, then snorted, but didn't shake him off, which Tony counted as a win. Speaking of wins... "Oh, hey," Tony said. "You know the way to the center of the Labyrinth?"

"No," Hulk said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, well. We can get there together, at least," Tony said, looking around. They were still in the garden part of the Labyrinth and Natasha-

_Natasha!_

Looking around frantically, Tony started to run back the way he'd come. "Natasha!" he called out.

Hulk pulled on the back of his shirt, just barely stopping Tony from running into a big bush that hadn't been there before. Now that he wasn't running headfirst into it, Hulk let him go so that he could feel the wall in the middle of the bush. "Natasha!" he called again, not getting a response.

"Natasha friend?" Hulk asked.

"I..." Tony said, brought up short by the question. Natasha had been helping him, despite all those times Tony had been weak and helpless. He didn't know why she kept helping him, but he had felt better when she'd found him. And now she was missing again. He shivered. "Yeah, she's - Did you see a small fairy, about this big and wearing black? Short red hair, big attitude."

"Fairies good to eat," Hulk said.

"Natasha's a friend!" Tony said, this time more firmly. "You can't eat friends. That's just sound logic. You eat them, and they can't be friends anymore."

Hulk huffed, but nodded. "Hulk not see fairy."

He looked at the wall, glaring at it ineffectively. If it would just go back to the way it was... But that would mean this hellish place was working for him and not against him. Tony kicked the bush, biting his lip as his foot hit the wall. It didn't feel satisfying to hit it. It just hurt.

Tony closed his eyes, head feeling heavy. "She said to run, but... she'll be alright, won't she?" he asked himself as anger turned to recrimination. He shouldn't have left her! But now he had to choose between finding Natasha and saving his friends, because he might not have time to do both.

"Fairies tough," Hulk said, sounding distinctively grouchy about the fact. "Hard to catch."

His fingers curled into fists. He didn't even have a choice, not with this wall in front of him. He couldn't do anything right...

"You gonna go or gonna cry?"

"I'm not-" Tony said, spinning around. Hulk was distinctly unimpressed with him. "I wasn't going to cry."

"Then go," Hulk said, dismissing Natasha altogether.

Tony swallowed, then nodded. He gave the wall one last look before following Hulk. Natasha found him again last time. Hopefully she'd find him again. "Alright, let's - hey, no. Not to the left. This way!"

Tony got roared at for his troubles. "You get angry pretty quick, don't you?" Tony asked as he unplugged his ears. "We go to the right. Always the same direction, that way Natasha... She can find us again." He tried to keep his voice steady so that it didn't break on Natasha's name, but at least Hulk wasn't the sort to call him on it. Rhodey would have, but right now Rhodey was also...

Damn it. Hulk had a point. He wasn't going to get anything done standing here being maudlin. Pushing his shoulders back, Tony took Hulk's arm and attempted to pull him along the right direction. "Come on, this way," Tony said, taking the right path.

Surprisingly enough, Hulk merely huffed and lumbered off, dragging Tony rather than the other way around. But they were going the right way now, and Tony was relieved. He didn't want to split up with any more of his friends.

Hulk wasn't much of a talker. Normally that wasn't too bad, since Tony could talk anyone's ear off according to Rhodey, but even Rhodey occasionally cut in or answered back. Tony was lucky if he got a grunt from Hulk, and so he started muttering to himself about his mental map of the Labyrinth. While the Labyrinth _seemed_ to make no kind of sense, there had to be some sort of algorithm it was based on. True random would be a hassle even for the king, so there had to be some sort of logic going on here, and if there was logic, Tony could figure it out and then solve-

Hulk roared, startling Tony out of his thoughts. Without realizing it, Tony had walked out of the garden part of the Labyrinth. There were no longer any hedge walls, or any kind of walls, which was weird. They were in what now looked like a forest, and thankfully not an overly deadly-looking one. Just a very glittery one. The glitter had been mostly absent in the hedges, now that Tony thought about it, but now it was back with a vengeance and - Seriously? Even the spider webs had glitter?

He was never going to look at glitter again when he got back home.

Looking back, Tony saw that he at least hadn't been that out of it. The hedges from the previous section were only a few paces behind him, so he probably would have noticed soon. Hulk stood in between the hedges, not moving out into the forest. "It's just some trees," Tony said. "Come on. It's not gonna hurt you, Jolly Green. No reason to be afraid of anything with this much glitter."

"Forest not nice to Hulk. Not good place," Hulk said, snarling at a nearby tree. It was much greener than the ones outside the Labyrinth, but also darker, both in the leave's color and the bark where it wasn't sparking from the glitter bomb. Or maybe it was just that there was much less sunlight coming through now. The branches were low enough that Tony could see where someone as big as Hulk would have some problems.

"I'll help you with the branches," Tony promised.

"Fairies attack. Fly away before Hulk eats them," Hulk said with a hint of sourness.

Tony fought to keep a straight face. He doubted Hulk's cheery disposition would make him appreciate Tony laughing at him. But the image of angry Hulk being scared of a few tiny fairies attacking him from the trees was kind of funny. "Hey, come on, big guy." He reached out to Hulk's massive hand, taking it between his.

Hulk looked startled at the contact, but didn't growl this time, which was nice. "I promise I'll protect you from the fairies," Tony said, smiling up at him.

"Hulk doesn't need protecting," Hulk huffed, but he stepped forward when Tony tugged on his hand.

His hands were dwarfed by the giant green fingers, but Hulk kept his strength in check and didn't squeeze Tony's hands at all. "See?" he said. "Nothing to be afraid of."

Hulk grumbled, but followed along behind Tony. He wondered how anyone thought that Hulk needed to be tied up. Sure, he got angry really easily and he seemed scary, but he was pretty nice when it came down to it. In fact, Tony was starting to suspect he was a big push-over as long as you weren't trying to hurt him.

Tony looked at his watch, noting with surprise that almost five of his thirteen hours were up. It had taken longer than he thought to get this far, and the castle still looked so far away.

"Tony scared?" Hulk asked.

"My friends are in trouble," Tony said, holding out his wrist. Hulk peered down at his watch, narrowing his eyes at the numbers. It was apparent the beast wasn't making heads or tails of the watch. "I have to get to the castle before the small hand gets to the one to help them."

"Tony's friends hurt?"

"Yeah," Tony said, looking away. He gripped Hulk's hand a bit tighter. "But I'm going to help them. And to do that, I have to get to the castle."

"Tony's friends... Hulk's friends?" Hulk asked.

Tony was surprised by the question. He considered it, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Rhodey and Pepper would like you. Pep's a bit bossy, and Rhodey likes to pretend he's all serious and too grown up to have fun - which is a complete lie, by the way, because he loves my bullshit - but I think they'd like you. And Natasha... well, as long as you promise not to eat her, she should like you too. So as long as you like them, we can all be friends."

Pepper would probably be afraid for a little bit, but he had the feeling Pepper would soon have Hulk cowed by her rather than the other way around. After seeing her with that Taser, she could handle Hulk's temper. Rhodey would probably frown at Tony's recklessness, but he was good-natured enough to go with it. Natasha... Well, she'd probably be friends? Maybe? It sounded like a good promise anyway.

Hulk growled and Tony assumed that was his form of agreement. "Hulk smash when friends get hurt," Hulk said, his tone very final.

Tony wasn't sure if 'smashing' was good or bad, but he'd take all the help he could get. "Thanks, Hulk," he said, squeezing the massive green hand in gratitude. "But we need to keep moving if we're going to help them. And that means going through this forest."

"Forest bad," Hulk said, but he was walking forward without prompting this time.

Tony figured he could lead the way if it made Hulk feel better. "Nah, it's not too bad," he said, letting go of Hulk's hand to check the nearest tree. "I don't see any fairies, so I think we're-"

Hulk roared furiously and Tony spun around. But when he looked, Hulk was nowhere to be found, and the roar had cut off. "Hulk?" he called out. Hulk was big, green, and really hard to miss even with a greener scenery. The entryway they'd come through earlier was gone, which was disturbing, but still no Hulk. "Hulk? Where are you? Hulk!"

"He fell down a trap, but he should be safe enough," a familiar voice said.

"Ozzy!"

When Tony looked this time, there was a man standing under one of the willow trees. He wore _very_ tight pants, and if that was the fashion in this place, it was probably the first thing Tony wouldn't complain about. His top half was covered in a ruffly shirt that was held in check by a dark vest. But what caught his eye was the elaborate and slightly grotesque mask the man wore that covered most of his face. The white mask had a long nose that dipped down and horns on the top that were hidden in a long, wild mane. It had a horrible countenance, but the cobalt eyes he glimpsed behind them looked kind.

"So that's what you look like," Tony muttered to himself, noting the striking similarities in build to the picture of the old king that Loki had shown him. But Natasha said to be wary of him, and if Loki were to be believed, this was just a disguise.

Ozzy was the one who created Pierce and killed Pepper.

The thought chilled him to the bone, looking at the man again. He was attractive, but that didn't mean he wasn't evil. After all, nothing was as it seemed here. "What do you want?" Tony asked, his voice harsh as he looked around for a stick. It wouldn't do much, but he'd feel better with a weapon.

Ozzy's mouth fell open. It was the only part of his face that was visible apart from his eyes. "I'm here to help," he said, surprised.

"Natasha said not to trust you," Tony said, taking the warning much more to heart. "And Loki said the outsider was disguised as the old King, who you look just like. And considering this outsider is controlling Pepper's _murderer_ , why don't you take off your mask and show me who you really are?"

"Loki said..." Ozzy swore, and Tony raised his fists. He might not last long, but he would find a way to avenge Pepper. "Look, that doesn't matter right now. The path ahead is dangerous and you need to turn back."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Tony shouted. "Pepper is _dead_ , and that doesn't matter to you?"

"I didn't mean that," the man snapped. "I promise you, I'm trying to help."

"Then take off your mask and prove it," Tony demanded.

"I can't," Ozzy said. "Your _friend_ saw to that."

Tony didn't know which friend Ozzy was referring to, but the fact that one of them had fixed the mask was a pretty damning sign. Tony lunged forward with his fists raised. 

He nearly crashed into the willow as he passed through Ozzy like a ghost. "You-"

"I'm not really here," Ozzy said. "But you have to listen. You can't go that way."

"If you _are_ the one who killed Pepper, I _will_ find you and end you," Tony promised. "And then I'm going back to save her and Rhodey."

At first Ozzy looked like he was going to argue, but then his shoulders slumped forward. "If that's what Loki told him..." he heard Ozzy mutter, before shaking his head. "Then I won't stop you, if you make it to the castle. It won't make things better though."

"I don't care," Tony said. Revenge burned at him, and he wanted that part of him cut out. It wouldn't go away until this ended.

"Then take the path around," Ozzy said, his voice tight. "Don't go this way. It's too dangerous."

"I'm not letting you turn me around! You're probably just telling me that to make me go the wrong way." Granted, Tony didn't know if he was going in the right direction, but he assumed any way Ozzy told him to go would be wrong.

He walked past Ozzy, who was much more of a monster than Hulk was. Hell, he'd probably put Hulk in a trap on purpose just to talk to Tony alone! "I'm going this way," Tony insisted.

"Tony, don't-"

For a brief instant, he felt a warm hand on his wrist. It was gone within seconds, but Tony jerked back regardless. This was the person he'd let kiss his hand in the dark. Now the memory of it revolted him, and he was glad Ozzy's hand went right through his wrist. "I don't need your help," Tony hissed, holding his hand against his chest as he stepped back. "And don't try to touch me again!"

"You're so damned _stubborn_ ," Ozzy said. "You'll get yourself _killed_ if you go that way."

"At least I'll be going the right way," Tony said, turning his back and marching forward.

Ozzy called his name a few times, but Tony ignored him. At least Ozzy didn't seem to be following him, as the sound of his voice cut off soon enough.

Tony swallowed hard, thinking of how close he'd let Ozzy come in the dark. He could still feel the kiss branding the back of his hand. He'd been swooning over the man who had probably killed Pepper, had let him close enough for a kiss!

Well, Tony wasn't going to let that happen again. And he was going to make sure Ozzy didn't hurt anyone else.

Tony made his way through the glitter-trees, ignoring the small doubt that told him maybe he should have listened. The trees didn't seem that dangerous at least. And there were no apples for him to take that would make them angry, so he was one up on Dorothy.

They looked like willows, but Tony wasn't exactly sure. It was a pity they weren't fruit trees now that he thought about it, because Tony was starting to feel a little hungry. "It's not so bad," Tony said, walking forward more confidently. "He _was_ just trying to throw me off the right trail. I knew he was-"

"And what do we have here?"

Tony jumped at the voice, turning to see a strange creature. Its skin was whitish blue and it was taller than Tony. Much taller. It had strange markings on its face like lines that weren't wrinkles or make up, and when it breathed out, Tony could see its breath clouding.

"Who are you?" Tony asked, taking a step back. He yelped when he hit something cold, scrambling back to see yet another creature.

"Smells like Loki's pawn," the one that had been behind him said.

" _Loki_ ," another one hissed, coming up from the right.

"I'm just trying to get through the Labyrinth," Tony said, catching sight of two more of them creeping closer. He was surrounded.

"I say kill it," one of the newer ones said.

His heart beat double time. He was cut off from all exits, and there were five of them now. They were all much bigger than him. He wasn't like the Captain America that his father had always raved about, taking on men twice his size and walking away. Tony was going to lose and lose badly if this came down to a fight.

"No," the final one said, staring at Tony. He looked older than the others, even if the lines weren't actually wrinkles. Tony swallowed, backing away from that cold gaze despite the words. "We shouldn't kill him. We should send Loki a message."

"I can take a message," Tony said, trying to find a spot that was far from all of them. "Just tell me what you want to say. Promise I won't forget it."

The creatures laughed, cruel and harsh. One of the stockier ones held his palm out and Tony jumped away as something shot out of it. Where he had been standing, a weird fire started to burn. The flames were blue, but it wasn't hot like blue flames should be. In fact, Tony was getting colder the longer he stood next to it. "You won't be saying much in the message," the first one he'd seen said, his lips curled in a cruel smile.

"But there will be screaming," another said.

"Yeah, this message is sounding pretty crappy," Tony said, looking around frantically. They were closing in on him, pushing him closer to the fire. "Natasha!" he yelled. "Hulk! Anyone?"

"No one will help you, traitor's pawn," the old one spat.

There was a fallen branch near his foot, and Tony scrambled to grab it as he prayed silently that it was as sturdy as it looked. "Stay back," he said, holding it out in front of him like a bat.

When the stocky one reached for him, Tony brought the branch down on the creature's arm. There was a loud crack and the arm snapped off. Tony suddenly felt sick, his eyes going round as he stared at the arm on the ground.

"Stay back," he said, bringing the stick up again as the creature leaned down to pick up its arm. Another of them came close as the first held the arm in place, and it blew on the conjunction between the arm and the stump.

Ice came out of the creature's mouth, stitching the arm back on. The first one moved the broken arm, flexing the hand. Then he looked down at Tony. "That wasn't very nice."

"I say we tear off the pawn's arms and see how he likes it," the second one said.

Tony took a step back, hitting one of the willows. There was nowhere for him to run!

"The pawn is scared," the third one said as they all started to close in.

His palms started to sweat as he gripped the stick tighter. "I'm not afraid," Tony said, willing it to be true. He tried not to think about one of those things freezing his arm and snapping it off.

"You should be," the fourth said as he started to inhale.

Tony swung the stick before the creature could blow on him and freeze him. He wasn't tall enough to hit the creature's head, but he hit the neck as hard as he could.

The creature’s head came right off, and he swallowed down bile. These were officially his least favorite things in the Labyrinth.

"Kill him!" the head said as the body started to fall back, its arms flailing.

"I thought I was supposed to send a message!" Tony said, swinging the stick around at a second creature, its head flying off as the body searched for what it lost. Another creature reached for him, but he snapped off its arm at the elbow, yelping as he ducked under a breath of ice. The tree behind him froze.

He swung low at the next, taking out its legs. From there it was easy to whack off the head. He might actually get out of this alive, without anyone else's help. Another creature was trying to reattach one of the arms, which Tony swung at again, this time snapping the limbs off much further up.

That was when his luck ran out. Tony screamed as a creature grabbed his arm, cold burning through the sleeves of that damned shirt Loki had forced him to wear. The stick fell from his hand as he struggled to pull away, but the burning continued.

Then it stopped, and Tony fell back, clutching his arm against him. He blinked through the pain as the creature shrieked, seeing a big white owl clawing at the creature's face. The creature batted it to the side with a lucky hit.

The owl hit the ground, its white wings spread on the dark grass, unmoving. "Stop it!" Tony yelled, pushing himself to his feet. He stood in front of the owl, then threw his arms up to protect himself when the creature started to exhale.

A shattering sound made Tony look up. The creature was in multiple pieces on the ground, and Loki stood with his scepter pointed at where the creature had stood. "Run, you fool," Loki hissed, pointing to the bodies on the ground that were still looking for heads.

"The owl-" Tony said, turning to see only grass where the owl had lain. "Where-"

"Vanished, now run! I cannot remain here to help you!" Loki said as he shimmered for a moment before disappearing.

Tony hesitated where the owl had been. Should he-

"Kill the pawn!" one of the heads said.

Tony shook his head and took off running. He'd have to hope the owl got away.

He could hear the heads shouting behind him as he ran, and that only made him move faster through the undergrowth. His eyes watered as a branch scratched his bad arm, and another cut his cheek, but he kept going.

"I _hate_ this place," Tony muttered as he was forced to a halt. In front of him was a steep cliff face. He looked down at his hand, knowing there was no way he could climb it.

"Let's take off the pawn's head!" one of the creatures said behind him.

"See how it likes having its arms snapped off!"

Tony frantically looked around, but the trees on either side were too thick for a fast get away. All they'd have to do was breathe on the trees and they'd trap him.

"Up here!"

"Natasha?" Tony looked up, relief flooding through him. Natasha was at the top of the cliff, and she threw down a rope. He grabbed it with his good hand and looked up at the cliff again. He didn't know if he could climb it with the rope.

"Wrap it around you. We'll pull you up," Natasha said.

"We?"

"Just do it!"

Tony wrapped the rope around his waist the best he could, biting his lip at the pain as he fumbled with the rope and it hit his arm where it had been burned. Tying the knot was difficult, but he managed.

"Kill it!"

"Take off its head!"

"Hurry!" he called up.

He felt the rope tug him up and he tried to find footholds to help as much as he could. He used his good hand to hold onto the rope, the other held against him as close as he could. Natasha flew past him in a blur, and he looked down to see electricity from her wrists striking at the creature that had been reaching for Tony's foot. With her taking care of the monsters, he focused on using his good hand to pull himself up, clutching his bad arm against him.

He made the mistake of looking down again. "Look out!" he yelled as one of the creatures behind her filled its lungs. He yelped as the rope jerked him up further, causing him to lose track of the fairy.

Tony could barely hear the creature's shouts as his heart pounded in his ears, but when he finally reached the top, he nearly let go to fall back. "You!"

"He's with us now," Natasha said. Natasha, who was not down there frozen by monsters. She was fluttering right beside him, grinning at him with her hands on her hips like he was an idiot for worrying. And maybe he was, but that didn't stop the easing of the sick feeling in his gut at seeing her safe.

A normal-eyed Clint helped pull him up, which was enough for Tony to accept his help for now. The creepy, dead-eyed ice blue hue had been replaced with a more normal grey-blue. It was still a little cold, but nothing like before.

Once Clint untied the rope, Tony sprawled on the ground and tried to catch his breath. His arm _hurt_ , but at least he was alive, and Natasha was alive, and the rest of his friends would be once he completed this damned Labyrinth.

He was shaking, and Tony couldn't tell if it was from the creature's cold breath or from the adrenaline. But he looked over the cliff's edge to see only one of the creatures staring up at them. The creature smiled - an ugly and twisted thing that chilled him. Then it turned and left.

Tony leaned back, cradling his arm against him. Natasha was nice, but Tony would have given anything for one of Rhodey's hugs right now.

"Do you actively seek out trouble?" Natasha asked. He looked up to find that her arms were now crossed over her chest, and she had lost the smirk. Now it was replaced with narrowed eyes that Tony was surprised to find covered worry.

"It's what I'm good at. I'm always good to find a party," Tony replied. At least, Jarvis had always thought so. He had also always disapproved, but his disapproval hurt in different ways from his father's.

"We need to work on your definition of a party," Natasha said as she flew down to get a better look at his arm. "Never invite Frost Giants."

"Is that what those were?" Tony said, gritting his teeth as she lightly checked over his arm.

"Clint, is the path to the other world open?" Natasha asked.

"There's a path to my world?" Tony asked, betrayal creeping up on him as he pulled away from Natasha.

"It's one way. We can only bring people here. The King's the only one who can send them back," Clint said with a shrug.

Natasha looked at Tony reproachfully, and he let her near again out of guilt.

"This place sucks," Tony muttered, wanting nothing more than to just give up and cry. He could hear his father's opinion of that loudly in his head, but he was starting to not give a damn.

Natasha squeezed his fingers, as if she knew what he was thinking. Except, if she knew that, she'd probably feel as disgusted as his father always had been. "Can we bring in Dr. Cho to-" she started to say.

"I don't think we can. With the King out, the portal's too unstable," Clint said, shaking his head. "But I think I saw Redwing flying around."

"See if you can flag him down and get a message to Sam," Natasha ordered, focusing back on Tony's arm.

"Roger that," Clint said with a sloppy salute. His eyes flashed ice blue for a moment, but it was gone before Tony could be sure. Must just be his imagination.

"What's with him?" Tony asked after Clint left. "First he's attacking us, but now he's helping us?"

"He was being controlled by Loki," Natasha said, folding up Tony's sleeve.

He tried to help her, but only ended up hurting himself as the name took him by surprise. "Loki?" he asked, as Natasha batted his hand away. Loki was the one who helped him get away from the frost giants.

"You know the name?" Natasha asked sharply. She came up to eye-level with him, but there was worry, not suspicion, on her face. Tony wondered if he deserved that, after he had thought she'd betrayed him so easily earlier, especially since he had to lie to her.

"The frost giants," Tony said, thinking fast. Loki had said he couldn't tell the truth about how he was helping. "They said I was Loki's pawn?"

Natasha tilted her head at him, and Tony wondered if he'd been caught in the lie. He was good at lying though. Usually to himself more than anything, but he'd told more than a few lies over the years when Jarvis had almost caught him drinking or Rhodey was fretting again. Maybe it wasn't enough to fool someone like Natasha, but he knew telling parts of the truth would be better than a flat out lie.

If she did catch him in the lie, she didn't call him on it. "That man from the oubliette," she said. "He came back, didn't he?"

"Yes," Tony said with a huff. "And I told him off too."

Natasha nodded, patting his head approvingly. "They probably sensed him on you. Don't trust Loki for anything. He's the one who started this whole mess."

"He did?" Tony asked, before he remembered what Loki had told him about the glamor. Tony wondered how much of that was the truth, but Loki _had_ saved him. Ozzy, on the other hand... Well, Ozzy had tried to warn him away from the frost giants, but something about the man set Tony on edge.

He missed logic and things that made sense. Pepper would probably be laughing at him right now if she could...

Why couldn't anything in this place just be what it seemed? Who was he supposed to trust in this place?

Natasha had warned him away from Ozzy, though, and he'd trust her on this. This outsider must be the one who killed the King, and if Ozzy had really been the one to hurt Pepper and Rhodey, then Tony wasn't going to regret taking him down.

"You still hanging in there, kitten?" Natasha asked.

"I don't..." Tony started, then shook his head. This damned place was getting to his head. "How am I supposed to trust anyone in this place if no one is what they seem?"

"Trust yourself. Trust Natasha. Anyone else, bite them," Natasha said glibly.

"Clint said you were a murdering monster, didn't he?" Tony blurted out.

Natasha looked away and sighed. For a moment she closed her eyes, then looked back at Tony, unashamed. "It was a long time ago, on your world. I have a very specific skill set and I didn't care who I used it for. SHIELD asked Steve to look into it, since he keeps an eye out on the human world. They thought I was a threat. So he sent Clint out to stop me."

"What did you do?" Tony asked, curious in spite of himself. "Were you an assassin or-"

"Spy," Natasha said, her hands twitching slightly in a way that made Tony genuinely regret asking. "One that didn't care about collateral damage when it was the most expedient way to get the job done."

"What changed?"

"Clint," Natasha said simply. "Steve ordered I be subdued, and he left the how up to Clint. Clint made a different call from the one SHIELD wanted, taking me back to his family. He doesn't look like it, but he's a family man with a wife and three kids. He took me back to his farm and I didn't have to hurt people there. I could be someone else, instead of who I was."

He felt irrationally jealous at that. Who would he be, if he could be someone else? Someone who didn't have the name Stark and could just be _Tony_? Then again, was there really much to like about a nerdy mechanic? Probably not, considering his lackluster personality. With money, people had to at least pretend to like him.

"Clint sounds like a nice guy. Or nice dwarf. Whatever," Tony said. "You're sure he's back to normal then?"

There was a flicker of uncertainty in Natasha's expression, and she shook her head. "I hit him pretty hard, but-"

"Look out!" Tony shouted, catching sight of a giant bird – a falcon? – circling overhead. Hulk said fairies were tasty, and he couldn’t let Natasha get eaten! His legs wobbled, but he managed to get in front of Natasha and shield her the best he could.

"You know I can take care of myself against a bird, right?" Natasha said from behind him, thankfully with amusement in her tone. "Probably better than you can."

"I didn't want you to get eaten," Tony said, belatedly remembering how she fought against the frost giants and the goblins. She could probably take on something with those claws easily.

Natasha fluttered up and pet him on the head as she flew out from behind him. Then she raised her arms, and he could see a spark of electricity on her wrists. "That's not Redwing," she said softly, and Tony took a small step back.

The bird tilted its head at them, then started to shimmer. "What the-" Tony said as a man took the bird's place. A man with clothes. Very tightly fitting clothes, that somehow included a black jacket with coat tails and no sleeves that showed off a spectacular pair of well-muscled arms. He also had a belt with a few small pouches hanging from the loops.

"Sam!" Natasha said, looking just as impressed as Tony. At least he wasn't the only one.

"You're a bit shorter than normal," Sam said, smiling broadly. He was handsome, with dark skin and a mustache that Tony felt jealous of, as his own facial hair was still more like a shadow than anything. His ears were slightly pointed, and he had kind and lively eyes.

"You had more feathers than normal," Natasha said, lowering her arms as she flew closer to him. "Redwing?"

"Haven't seen him since the change," Sam said, his smile dimming. "Hopefully when this gets fixed, we'll find him again. This is the one Steve's been going on about?"

Tony clutched his bad arm against him, unsure what to do with the look of interest Sam gave him. He flushed slightly, wondering how he was managing to catch the attention of so many handsome men in tight pants.

"Sam's a friend," Natasha said as Sam walked closer. "And he was a paramedic in your world. He can help."

"Pararescue," Sam corrected. "I did everything they did while flying." He tilted his head at Tony, silently asking permission to see his arm.

Tony looked to Natasha, who nodded. Then he held out his arm for Sam to see. It was red and blistering now where the frost giant had held him, and he swallowed before looking away from the ugly wound. It still throbbed, pain piercing through his veins.

Sam tutted, shaking his head. "Frost giants?"

"That's what Natasha called them," Tony replied.

Sam reached into one of the pouches on his belt, getting some kind of lotion that he squeezed onto his fingers. "This'll sting a bit, but it should stop the burning."

Tony nodded, biting his lip as Sam started to rub the lotion in. Sam had understated how much it would sting, but it admittedly wasn't as bad as when the frost giant had grabbed him. He blinked furiously for a moment and bit his lip, then tried to focus on not reacting to the pain. Natasha came and settled on his shoulder, putting a hand against his neck, and that helped more than Tony could describe.

Finally, the rubbing stopped, and Tony looked up as Sam ruffled his hair. Rubbing at his eyes with his good hand, Tony glanced at his arm and was shocked. Now it was just an angry red spot the size of a hand, rather than a blistering mess of skin. "Magic?" he asked uncertainly.

"Good herbs that grow from this place and some help from Asgardian medicine," Sam explained. "So not technically magic."

"Thank God," Tony said with a sigh.

That earned him a chuckle from both Natasha and Sam. "I'm still going to dress the wound to keep it from getting infected," Sam said, reaching into another pouch to grab some gauze.

"Where's Clint?" Natasha asked as Sam started wrap the bandage around Tony's arm. It felt cool against his skin, soothing it as a steady hand kept his arm still.

"Went ahead to check on Laura and the kids since I was coming back to you guys. I saw some trouble starting around the city gates," Sam explained. He tore off the bandage after tying it off, then tested the strength of it. "How does it feel? Too tight?"

Tony made a fist with his hand, then wiggled his fingers. "It doesn't hurt anymore," Tony said, relieved.

"You'll live," Sam pronounced with a grin. "So you're the famous Tony."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked, nearly crossing his arms before he remembered the burn. It might not hurt anymore, but he didn't want to press his luck. Sam had said the famous _Tony_ , omitting his last name entirely, which was generally the focus for everyone else. Besides, this was a whole different world. It wasn't like the Stark name was famous here, was it?

"It means Steve barely ever shuts up about you," Sam said with a laugh, clapping him on the back.

Tony blinked. "That's a bit creepy, considering I still don't know the guy," he said, though admittedly people did that with celebrities back home too. Just, ya know, not by stalking the person for their own safety most of the time.

"A little," Natasha agreed. "Do you mind it?"

"Weirder things have happened," Tony said with a sigh. It wasn't like the protection hadn't been needed after all he'd seen of Hydra. "And you said it was just to protect me and my family, and he'd looked away from the private stuff, right?"

"Yes," Natasha said. "Though he's also a bit lonely sometimes. I caught him watching more than strictly necessary occasionally. He misses your world. Peggy let him watch her when she went back to the other world, but now that she's married, it's harder for him to watch. Watching over your family gave him another window that wasn't as painful."

"The one that got away," Sam said, shaking his head sadly. "His crush on you has been a relief, considering. At least he's not sulking anymore."

"Peggy?" Tony asked, wondering if they were talking about the Director of SHIELD.

Natasha hummed. "She left because she couldn't leave her career. You should have met her. She's the only one who could have told you the phrase to take you here."

Yup, Director of SHIELD. This was his life now. He wondered if her Deputy Director was aware of all the crazy stuff.

He flexed his arm absently. It still stung a little, but he hid his wince. The gauze around it felt light, but it was tight enough to stay put. He rolled his other sleeve up to match, then looked up. "Thanks," he told Sam.

Tony wondered how long he had left to solve the Labyrinth. He lost track of time too easily to do more than estimate, but it had probably been six hours that he'd wasted.

"Just try not to use it so much," Sam said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You guys headed to the city?"

"That's the plan," Natasha said, checking Tony over for other injuries. He stuck his tongue out at her, but she just flicked his nose in retaliation.

"Then I should warn you. There's some really nasty types that have been hanging around the walls," Sam said.

"You said before. Frost giants?" Natasha asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, something I've never seen before, lots of them. If I didn't know better, I'd say it's an army waiting to strike. Except why they're waiting considering Steve's..."

"That doesn't sound good," Tony said as Sam trailed off. Was he walking into a war zone?

"No," Natasha agreed, looking to where they could see the castle in the distance. "No sign of Steve at all?"

"No one can get into the castle," Sam said, arms crossed and frustration written on his face. "And as far as we can tell, he hasn't left it."

"Something's wrong," Natasha murmured.

The King had died, Tony wanted to say, but he couldn't tell them that. Not until he had proof. If Loki was telling the truth. He really hated this place.

Both Natasha and Sam were looking at him now with expressions Tony couldn't quite decipher. "What?" he asked, hoping neither of them were mind readers. Had he been taking for granted the fact that they weren't psychic?

They shared a look that Tony hoped wasn't conversing over a psychic bond. "He's our best chance," Natasha said to Tony's surprise. "And I think Steve's been trying to help him, since he's seen the White Owl."

"It was hurt," Tony said, thinking back to the fight with the frost giants.

"What?" they both said, Sam's eyes widening in alarm while Natasha fluttered up to eye-level. "Explain," she demanded.

"The white owl," Tony said. "When the frost giant grabbed my arm, a big owl attacked. It was hurt, but when I looked back to find it, it had disappeared."

The owl didn't make sense. First it had simply watched, but then it attacked his window in his world. It also attacked him when he first got here, but it saved him from the frost giants. What did that even mean, that it was only what it seemed to be part of the time?

"I don't like this," Sam said. "If Steve's hurt-"

"Then there's still nothing we can do until we can get into the castle. And it's likely Tony's the only one who can get in," Natasha said.

Tony started, looking back and forth at the two of them. "Wait, what? Why me?"

"You still aren't attuned to the energy of this place," Sam said, putting away the supplies he'd used on Tony's arm. "And not many outsiders can actually get in to the center of the Labyrinth, not without assistance. So you're probably the only one who can get past the energy barrier around the castle."

"Great," Tony said, running a hand through his hair. Just when he thought this day couldn't get better, though it would make things easier if he was going to kill the impostor who hurt his friends. If there was an impostor.

"And I have to get in so that I can go back to help my friends, right?" he asked, still not sure _how_ he was going to kill the fake king.

"He wants to go back?" Sam asked Natasha, concerned.

"His friends are in danger," Natasha replied. "We've been cut off from the human world since the barrier went up, but something big happened. I think Hydra made its move."

Tony stilled at the name, hardly able to breathe. No, he had to breathe. He wasn't being held under water, so he could-

"Tony, focus on me," Natasha ordered, and his eyes snapped to her and her gossamer wings beating slowly to hold her up. "I didn't ask before because it was spooking you, but we need to know. Were they the ones who hurt you?" she asked.

He nodded, not quite trusting his voice yet.

"Did Peggy or Nick know they were the ones that hurt you?"

"No," Tony said, his question about the Deputy Director being answered. "We were trying to contact her when - I don't know. There was an explosion and I woke up to..." Tony shivered as his mouth clamped shut. He couldn't talk about that, not now.

"We?" Sam asked.

"Later," Natasha said as Tony looked down. "We'll focus on Hydra after we've gotten this world put to right, because we can't do anything about it now, but Tony, I promise you, we're going to stop Hydra. Tony?"

Pepper was dead. There was no escaping that fact, and she died because she was trying to help Tony. Now she was never going to smile at his awkward attempts at flirting again.

"Hey," Natasha said, flying in front of his face so he was looking down at her. "We'll help your friends, I promise. We've been tracking down Hydra with Peggy and Nick for a while now. If we can get Steve out of whatever's keeping him from leaving the castle, then we _will_ make sure Hydra pays for what it's done."

"And then we'll stomp out Hydra once and for all," Sam promised, his voice hard. Tony looked up, surprised to see Sam's kind eyes now hard as steel. "We've been working too hard on this to fail now. We'll get your friends out of there."

Tony stood, nodding curtly. Pepper wasn't going to stay dead, and he was going to keep Rhodey from getting hurt. Then all of this would be just a bad dream. "We should - We should get going."

The kindness returned to Sam's eyes as he clasped Tony's shoulder; his hand was warm and it reminded him that he wasn't alone in the dark anymore. "Let's get you to the city first," Sam said as he guided Tony forward. "Then we can-"

Tony screamed as the floor dropped out from under him. He heard a bird's cry and felt something hit his shoulder as he slid down. The tunnel was short and Tony scrambled to hold on to the walls. He managed to get a hand hold as he came out into the light. He nearly lost his footing, but he felt the back of his vest being lifted and it helped him find a better place to stand.

He clutched at the rock, trying to calm his pounding heart as he closed his eyes. That had been close... There was a horrific smell that he didn't quite dare find the source of just yet, but at least he hadn't fallen to his death.

"You alright?"

"Natasha!" Relief rushed through him. At least he wasn't alone this time. He looked up to see her waving her hand in front of her nose, and he envied her the ability to use her hands. "You're stronger than you look," he muttered, trying not to think of how it was possible for a fairy who could fit in his hands to lift him.

"Don't underestimate fairy power, kitten," she replied.

Tony carefully tried to turn around to see where they were, and immediately regretted it. He was on a small ledge overlooking a steep drop into...

Tony swallowed, his throat simultaneously dry and filled with phantom water. The river below coursed violently, crashing against the cliff face with powerful waves. The horrible smell was coming from the water, but he didn't dare move to cover his nose.

"Tony?" Natasha said, flying closer.

"I..." He couldn't panic here. But the water filled him with fear and he didn't know if he could control it.

"Tony, look at me."

Tony tore his eyes away from the water to Natasha. She fluttered in front of him, a question in her eyes that he couldn't answer.

"Is it the height?" she asked. He managed to shake his head. "Water?"

Nodding, Tony accidentally glanced down. He only barely managed to tear his eyes back to Natasha to see a look of pure rage on her face. It was enough to shake him out of his panic a little. "N-Natasha?"

"Keep your hand on the wall," she said, her voice soft and the anger gone. "Don't look down. Can you walk forward?"

He didn't know if he could, but Tony nodded anyway. Natasha moved back just far enough to encourage him forward, and Tony forced his foot to move. He started to look down to see his footing, but Natasha spoke sharply. "Eyes on me. I'll let you know if there's anything to look out for."

Tony did as she said, moving when she prompted him to. His fingers were starting to cramp from how hard he was holding on, but he forced his fingers to flex and let go, slowly moving despite how his heart raced. One slip and he would be under water, unable to breathe as he-

He had to think about something else. "That smell-" he started to ask.

"Used to be much worse," Natasha said with a wince. "So bad it used to be called the Bog of Eternal Stench before Steve came. He diverted one of the nearby rivers to try to clear it out. It smells a bit worse than normal though. I think the Labyrinth is trying to resist Steve's influence now that he's trapped."

"Is there anything Steve can't do?" Tony grit out, a little resentful of this perfect king who was already dead.

"He can't get the smell out," Natasha said with a small smile. "He never forgave Clint for ruining his old clothes in a prank."

That didn't sound very much like the Clint he'd met, but he'd only really talked to the grumpy mind-controlled version of him. "So he-"

Tony put his foot down, but instead of solid ground, the rock crumbled. Natasha darted forward, but Tony was already falling. He hit the ground shortly after with a small yelp of pain. He could still hear the water, but he realized he wasn't close to it, not like before. He scooted back to the cliff face anyway, feeling better for having it behind his back.

"Have you ever stayed out of trouble?" Natasha said angrily, her hands on her hips.

"Only when I'm not useless," Tony replied, wrapping his arms around himself. "Which, hey, is never."

"You're not useless," Natasha said.

"I can't help my friends, I couldn't make my dad happy, and I can't go near water now without-" Tony cut himself off, shivering. "What part of that is not useless?"

"All of it," Natasha said curtly. Tony looked up in surprise. "You're braving the Labyrinth to help your friends, and you're finding allies. If your father was never happy, that's his problem, not yours. As to the water, that will take time. But you're already recovering faster than you did the first time we met."

Tony swallowed, trying not to think of the water being forced down his throat. "It won't _stop_ ," he said, closing his eyes.

"And it won't, kitten," Natasha said. She flew to his shoulder and pat his cheek. "But it will get better, I promise."

"How do _you_ know so much about it?" Tony snapped.

"Because we've all been there," Natasha said. "Me, Clint, Sam... even Wanda, and she's only just started working with us after her brother died. We all know how it feels. Steve's the worst of us, I swear. Do not follow his example on what to do when he gets bad."

"You...?" Tony asked, his eyes going wide.

"Yeah. We all have our demons, Tony," Natasha said, looking distant. "You like to make things, don't you?"

"I..." Tony said, caught off guard by the change of subject. "I'm a mechanic." Because take away all the flash and degrees, that's what he was. He liked fixing and building machines, and wanted to work more on robotics than weapons. Sure he could use a fancier term like 'engineer', but he always got the feeling it would piss his father off more just to call himself what he was, a mechanic.

Would have.

Tony shook his head. He didn't have time.

"Clint has a lot of tools lying around," Natasha said. "He's always tearing down and rebuilding part of the house. When we get to the goblin city, you could make something to help you fight."

The promise of even just holding the tools in his hands made him feel pathetically better. He nodded, using the wall to help stand up. "That'd be good," he said. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd make, but he'd figure something out. He could also make something that could help with that army Natasha and Sam talked about, if just so that he wasn't so useless to them as well. Natasha had been helping him. He should... He should be useful to her. Then she might keep helping him. He didn't like making weapons, but he could do that much.

"Okay," he said, still not looking at the water. He could hear it, and fuck, he could smell it because the smell was overwhelming, but that didn't mean he had to see it. He kept his eyes trained in front of him or on the ground. "So how do we get out of here, Tink?"

"There should be a bridge over there," Natasha said, her voice unusually nasal. He looked up enough to see her holding her nose. "And the sooner we leave the better."

She stayed in his line of sight as they continued on, and Tony tried to push away how grateful he was for that. He shouldn't need it. He should be better than-

"Don't get stuck in your head," Natasha said, startling him. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not true."

"How do you know?" Tony asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he flushed.

"Been there, remember?" Natasha said. "It's something that'll take time to get over. You're not bad just because there's no fast way to fix it."

Tony scowled. "Just because there's no such thing as pixie dust doesn't mean-"

He yelped, jumping back as a small... or, well, _large_ squirrel? Small creature, whatever it was, leapt out of nowhere.


	4. Chapter Four

"You will travel no further," the creature said. It _was_ a squirrel. And it was wearing some sort of weird ass armor and a _cape_ of all things. He was holding a hammer in front of him and had long, blond... Hair? Fur? How did that even work on a squirrel?

Tony really hated this place.

"Thor?" Natasha asked, fluttering down to the squirrel's level. "Is that you?"

"Lady Natasha!" Thor said, smiling as broadly as a squirrel could, which was surprisingly broad. It was a little disturbing. "I am glad to see you well, shield-sister."

"You're a squirrel," Natasha said, looking just as surprised as Tony felt.

"Don't look at me," Tony said. "You're the one who lives in this fucked up place."

The squirrel laughed heartily, patting Tony's leg. "There have been more common sights," Thor agreed. "I admit my own surprise at our lady's appearance."

"So, talking squirrels," Tony said, wondering what Natasha normally looked like if she somehow looked different. "Okay, then."

"Tony, this is Thor," Natasha said, shaking her head. It was so nice not to be the only one rattled. "God of Thunder in talking squirrel form. Thor, this is Tony Stark."

"The one who has stolen the King's affections?" Thor asked. "It is indeed an honor to meet you at last."

"Still creepy," Tony said. Even though he had technically seen the white owl a lot recently, so it wasn't like there was some invisible person who had been following him around, it was still unnerving. "And does everyone know about me?"

Natasha shrugged. "We all knew something was up when Steve stopped sulking. Clint and I needed to know why."

Tony wouldn't have pegged fairies and dwarves as giant gossips, but then, he wouldn't have said fairies were badasses who could electrocute you or that dwarves used bows and arrows. Nor would he have said the god of thunder would be a squirrel.

He was still wrapping his mind around that one.

"We need to get to the castle," Tony said, deciding to just ignore how very little sense this place made.

"Then you cannot go that way," Thor said. "There is a giant who roams across this bridge, and I'm afraid in my diminished state I could only fight to a draw, not best it."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's diminished size? None of my strength has changed that much."

"Well," Tony said with a cough. "I know they _say_ size doesn't matter, but - Ow! Hey!"

Thor laughed heartily, though Tony couldn't say if it was at his joke or at Natasha's manner of shutting him up. Tony glared up at her for good measure as he rubbed his ear.

"He has great spirit," Thor said. "I see now why the King is so smitten."

"At least someone does," Natasha muttered.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, feeling vaguely hurt by that. Natasha flew over to pat his head, but did not rescind her words. Rude.

"Now that there's more than one of us, we might be able to take down the monster," Natasha suggested.

Thor shook his head sadly. "It is a fairy-eating giant, and its temper is far too great."

Natasha landed on Tony's shoulder, her wings going completely still as he craned his head to look at her. "The green monster?" she asked, her small body going ramrod straight.

"Aye," Thor said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, my friend, but I fear we are still outmatched."

"There's no way to go around from here with the top path out," Natasha said, looking over the bridge.

Green fairy-eating monster? It occurred to Tony that all this fuss might be for nothing. "Giant green guy with anger management issues and huge muscles?" he asked.

"You've seen the beast before?" Thor asked, surprised.

"Yeah, that's just Hulk," Tony said, shoving his hands in his pockets. For once, he was catching Natasha off guard, and he was reveling in the fact that her eyes grew wide. That's twice now she's been surprised. "Don't worry. We're cool. He promised not to eat Natasha, too. Not everything is what it seems and all that."

"You made _friends_ with it?" Natasha asked incredulously.

"It seemed like the thing to do at the time?" Tony said.

Thor looked thoughtful. "This turn of events may save us."

"Great," Tony said, covering his nose as a fresh whiff of the putrid air reached him. "So let's get out of this place, 'cause it stinks."

"Why do you cover your nose?" Thor asked. "The air here is sweet."

"Loki must have done something to your nose," Natasha said, shaking her head.

"My brother has been known to do such things," Thor replied, though Tony wasn't altogether sure he wasn't joshing them.

"Hold up," Tony said, his eyes going wide. "Loki is your _brother_?"

"He's adopted," Thor said.

Even adopted, Tony was having a hard time reconciling the man he'd met at the start of the Labyrinth being raised by a family of overly large _squirrels_.

"Don't think about it too hard," Natasha said.

That was honestly the best advice Tony had received since he got here. "Alright, R.O.U.S., lead the way," Tony said, hoping it was really Hulk across the bridge and not some other fairy-eating giant.

"R.O.U.S.?" Thor asked.

"Just call him Kitt-"

"Don't call me that," Tony interrupted, glaring at Natasha who had the nerve to smirk at him.

Thor looked between the two of them thoughtfully. "I see our new friend has stolen the affections of more than just our King."

"What?" Tony asked, looking around and seeing no one but the three of them. He did _not_ need any more creepers. One was enough.

"Don't confuse him," Natasha said with a tutting sound. "Tony, stay close. We can't be sure if it's the same monster you met before. But if there's a chance we can distract it enough for you to slip by, you go ahead."

Tony had been walking towards the small bridge, but he stopped. "I'm not leaving you behind again," Tony said, planting his feet. Natasha might be tough, but he wasn't leaving her with a fairy-eating monster if it wasn't Hulk, especially not after how still she went when the monster was mentioned.

"We can both fly to catch up with you," Natasha said pointedly, and Tony mentally added 'flying squirrel' to 'overly large squirrel who just happened to be the God of Thunder'. Don't think about it too hard. "We're smaller and can get past it once you're clear. You just run if you get the chance."

Tony's shoulders hunched over before he could stop them. He was still useless. He couldn't even help with the fight if one did break out.

"You are the only one that can break the curse my brother cast on this place, Tony Stark," Thor said, startling him out of his thoughts. "And you may yet tame this beast. Your value may not lie in a fight, but that doesn't make you less valuable to our cause."

"Oh?" Natasha said, voice raising in mock disbelief. "That's not what I've heard you say before. Where'd you learn that one, the object of _your_ affections?"

"Jane is a great scientist who does much good for her world," Thor said sagely, not embarrassed in the slightest. Tony was no expert on squirrel expressions, but he was pretty sure the look in Thor's eyes was purely besotted.

Natasha shook her head, a small smile dancing across her lips. Then she flew over to Tony, her red wings fluttering behind her. "What he said was true, Tony. You're saving us by solving the Labyrinth. Fighting to protect you just returns the favor."

Tony looked down. It didn't feel like it was enough, not when Natasha was so scared and still fighting. He didn't want to leave her to face that by herself, even with Thor there for backup. He should be there to help her like she'd helped him when he was scared. "I..." Tony said, cutting himself off. He shouldn't _need_ protecting. Dad explained often enough how good Captain America was at... well, everything, even before the serum. Admitting he needed help was just another weakness.

"Come," Thor said. "You may yet tame the beast."

Natasha landed on his shoulder, probably for his comfort rather than hers. His cheeks burned and he was about to yell at her, when her hand came up to his cheek. "It's alright," she said softly.

"It's not," Tony snapped.

"I know," she replied.

Tony sighed and nodded grudgingly, trudging along on the path Thor gestured to. But Thor didn't move. Instead he whistled, and to Tony's shock, a goat came out from one of the trees. "Ah, Tanngrisnir!" Thor said, petting the goat's snout before mounting its back. "We will ride forth into battle!"

"I..."

"Just don't think about it," Natasha said, patting his cheek again.

Tony looked forward to the day when a squirrel riding a goat actually made sense.

They came to a small bridge, which Tony eyed dubiously. It was essentially a wooden plank over fast rapids from the disgusting-smelling river. "Is this safe?" he asked, testing the board as he put some weight on it. It was disturbingly bouncy and not at all structurally sound.

"Looks like fun," Natasha said, eyeing it suspiciously.

"The lady Natasha has a very strange definition of amusement at times," Thor said with a laugh, officially the only one who actually looked happy about this. "I shall test it first. Onward, Tanngrisnir!"

The goat crossed the ramp without a second glance, proving it was at least sturdy enough to hold a squirrel riding goat. It did not make Tony feel much better about any of this. "The bridge is sound!" Thor shouted back.

"You're telling me," Tony muttered as he took a deep breath, then regretted it as the foul smell was now caught in his lungs. He started across anyway, trying not to think of the water below.

There were no rails. Tony wasn't a klutz, but the narrow plank made him self-conscious. He hated this.

"Don't look down," Natasha said, her hand on his neck rubbing small, soothing circles into his skin.

He didn't reply, keeping his eyes on the narrow wood and not thinking about the rushing water below. He could do this. Rhodey and Pepper were counting on him. He didn't have time to freak out, not if he wanted to save them. He had to-

"Tony! Grab on!"

The crack was loud enough to make Tony jump, which rattled the bridge further. Tony yelped as the bridge moved, looking frantically around to see what Natasha was talking about.

He managed to grab hold of the branch she was pushing down just as the bridge broke and fell out from under his feet. Tony's legs dangled in the air as he tried to get a better grip on the branch.

"Don't look down," Natasha ordered, fluttering around to the front where he could see her. "Thor, can you carry him over? He's too heavy for me to hold for long."

Tony yelped again as the branch slipped through his fingers, getting a better grip as his arms started to ache. "Hold fast, my friend," Thor said as he dismounted and started to spin his hammer rapidly.

There was another crack, this time from the branch. It dipped lower and Tony tried not to think about how much closer to the water he was. He felt his grip on the branch slipping and he swallowed hard. "Natasha-"

"Hang on, Tony," she said. "We'll-"

There was a loud roar that nearly made Tony let go. Natasha flew to the side, her arms in front of her as her wrists started to glow blue.

Thor turned towards the sound, hammer stilling. "The beast is-"

A giant green missile came at Tony. "Hey, don't-" he said, as the green shoulder cut into his stomach. The branch was torn from his hands. He may have screamed, and he knew the water would fill his lungs soon, but...

There was a loud grunt under him, and it felt like they hit solid ground rather than water. He looked up to see a familiar angry green face. "Hulk!"

"Hold on!" Natasha yelled, lightning springing from her wrists.

Hulk roared in pain, swinging around as Tony scrambled to hang on. "No, wait!" he said, hoping both of them would listen. "Natasha, don't- whoa! Hey, Hulk. It's okay. We're all friends here."

"This is the friend you told us of?" Thor asked as he landed a decent ways away from the two of them.

"Yeah, I-"

Hulk roared deafeningly and Tony clapped his hands to his ears. "Hey, chill out, Jade Jaws. You can put me down now," Tony said, trying to push himself off ineffectively.

"Fairy hurt Hulk," Hulk growled, snarling his teeth.

"She thought you were going to hurt me because you surprised us," Tony said, borrowing the tone Obadiah used when trying to sound reasonable to his father. "They didn't realize you were helping me, which thanks for, by the way. She won't do it again, right, Natasha?"

Natasha looked... She looked blank in a way that wasn't her business as usual. It wasn't like when she was facing down Clint, but Tony wasn't sure what was wrong. And something definitely _was_ wrong. "Natasha?"

She slowly lowered her arms, but didn't move closer. Usually she would be moving in and out of Tony's personal space by this point.

Hulk snorted and her arms came back up a fraction. "Fairy afraid," Hulk said, then roared again as Natasha flinched. "Hulk eats fairies."

"Hey! Well, yeah, if you're gonna threaten her, of course she's gonna be afraid," Tony said, finally managing to slide off Hulk's shoulder. "You promised not to eat her."

Natasha flew closer to Tony and Hulk bared his teeth. This close, he could see the fear lingering in her eyes. "Be nice," Tony said, leveling Hulk with his best imitation of the glare Rhodey always gave him. "If you want more friends, you can't go around bullying them."

Huffing, Hulk crossed his arms. Tony looked to Natasha, who he could see was breathing a bit harder than normal. "Sorry for hurting you," Natasha said to Hulk as she fluttered closer to him. "And thank you for saving Tony."

Hulk looked like he was about to roar again, but Tony pulled his best 'Tony, I'm really not amused with your shit this time' Rhodey-face from the few times Tony had accidentally pushed too far. It was surprisingly effective, and Hulk just grumbled.

"Truly, it is a pity you must leave this place, my friend," Thor said, startling Tony. The squirrel stood next to him, his hammer back on his belt loop. "You could do this world and its inhabitants much good."

"Huh?" Tony asked. "What are you talking about?"

Thor shook his head, then looked to Natasha and Hulk. "It is not important," Thor replied, though Tony didn't really believe him. "But if we have made amends, we should make a start to the goblin city."

"You gonna come with us, big guy?" Tony asked Hulk, eying what remained of the bridge. He wasn't too keen on Thor and Natasha trying to carry him across.

"Hulk smash?" Hulk asked.

Tony looked to Thor and Natasha, who just shrugged. "Probably," Natasha said. "Reports are saying there's an army waiting outside, so they'll be enough to smash."

"Then Hulk come," Hulk said, a wicked grin on his face.

"Great," Tony said, feeling rather gleeful himself as he rubbed his hands together. Even an army would have a hard time with Hulk. "So, how are we going to get across without the bridge?"

Natasha smirked at him, and he realized he probably wouldn't like the answer.

* * *

"Whoa!!" Tony clutched harder at Hulk's neck, glad for the pressure on his legs as Hulk held him in place. Water rushed by underneath them as they leapt across, but for once Tony didn't fear it like before. Between Hulk beneath him and Thor and Natasha on either side, he didn't have overwhelming terror gripping at him and trying to tear him down.

It felt good.

The landing was jarring and Tony ended up with more Hulk shoulder in his gut than he wanted, but a few bruises would heal easily enough. He slid down once they were on solid ground, patting Hulk's bicep as he pretended not to wobble on his slightly shaky legs. "Thanks, Mean Green," he said, getting a grunt in return as Tony looked around. It was more forest on either side, but there was one good thing at least. "Now let's get away from this _smell_."

* * *

Once they got upwind of the river, the walk was much more pleasant. Natasha was still a little wary of Hulk, but Thor took to him like peas in a pod, despite the weird punching thing where they took turns knocking each other into glitter-trees that neither of them actually seemed to mind. It would have almost have been fun listening to Thor's insane stories if not for the fact that Tony only had five hours left.

That and if he weren't starving.

His stomach made an embarrassingly loud noise that got everyone's attention. Tony flushed as they all turned to look at him. "You wouldn't happen to know anywhere we could get something to eat?" Tony asked.

"We're close to the city," Natasha replied. "Laura and Clint should have plenty of food there from the farm."

"Clint has a farm?" Tony asked, having a hard time picturing a dwarf on a farm. A dwarf with a bow and arrow. Weren't they supposed to work in mines?

"Hulk _smash_ short-stuff," Hulk said, punching a tree for emphasis. It was knocked down completely.

"Hey, no," Tony said as Natasha flinched.

"Dwarf-man hurt Hulk," Hulk replied.

"Yeah, but he was being controlled by the bad guy," Tony said.

"Clint is under a spell?" Thor asked.

"I..." Tony looked to Natasha for clarification.

"His eyes were blue," Natasha said. "Ice blue. It wasn't him in control, and he attacked me. Do you know anything that could do that, Thor?"

Not for the first time, Tony wondered how a squirrel could look so pensive. "There are very few artifacts I know of, none of them I would want in the hands of our enemy," he said gravely.

"His eyes had changed back the last time we saw him, and he seemed normal enough," Tony said.

Natasha nodded, but her eyes told a different story. "I hit him pretty hard. It was probably enough to do a mental re-calibration."

"If Clint has fought it off, then we have hope," Thor said, smiling broadly at all of them.

"Hulk smash?" Hulk asked.

"Hulk can smash the real bad guy, okay?" Tony said, very glad Hulk was on their side.

Hulk just huffed, crossing his arms. Tony hoped that meant agreement.

"Come on," Natasha said. "The sooner we reach the goblin city, the faster we can all eat."

They started off again, but Tony paused, seeing something out of the corner of his eye. The others kept moving, and Tony debated stopping them, but it was just something he could check out real quick then catch up, right?

There! He saw it again. A flash of purple and "Cli-"

Clint held up a finger over his lips. "Don't think your green friend would appreciate me turning up," Clint said quietly. "Tell Natasha the city guard should be dismantled, so you can walk right in."

"Okay," Tony said, wondering how you could 'dismantle' a guard. Was it some kind of machinery? "Are you-"

"Long story, kid," Clint said, his eyes, at least, still grey-blue. "Just let her know."

Nodding, Tony turned to follow his friends, proud of himself for not ending up in trouble this time. He could do this Labyrinth thing, easy.

"Hey, wait. Catch!"

Tony barely caught the round thing that had been aimed at his head. "You could have warned me!" he hissed.

"I did," Clint said as Tony turned it over in his hand. "Something to tide you over. I could hear your stomach a mile away."

A peach! Tony glared, but didn't argue. He _was_ hungry, after all, and he felt a lot better even having the fruit in his hand. He took a bite, surprised at the tart sweetness. "Wow, this is amazing. Thanks!" he said, taking a second bite and savoring the flavor.

"Sweet dreams," Clint said, his eyes flickering ice blue.

"What?" Tony asked, his voice slurring. There was something wrong with Clint having ice blue eyes. There was something wrong with Tony's _thoughts_. Why was it suddenly so hard to think? It was like his mind was now sunk in molasses.

"What... what did you do to me?" Tony asked, dropping the peach. He stepped back before his knees buckled.

"This is just a dream," someone said, their voice far away. "Don't fight it, kid."

This was wrong. He had to...

* * *

Ethereal music was playing. Tony looked around, seeing a party of some sort going on around him. A masquerade? When did... But he wasn't dressed for a fancy party. Dad would kill him for showing up in jeans.

Except he wasn't wearing jeans, which was a relief. He was in a white tux that shimmered softly when he caught his reflection in the glass. There was more glitter to the outfit than Tony had been expecting, and the light blue accents sparkled under the chandelier's light. No one seemed to be bothered by the outfit or his lack of mask, so maybe he wouldn't get in trouble. His mother would probably like it. Was this one of her charity balls?

He didn't recognize any of the other party guests, though that may have been because everyone else had masks. No one else's clothes were quite as grand, but the masks were elaborate and grotesque in ways Tony wasn't expecting. He took a step back, swallowing. Everyone was dancing, barely paying him any mind, but there was a frightening quality to the masks that unsettled him.

Something was wrong. Tony looked around for anyone he might know, pushing though the dancers as he tried to figure it out. He needed to... There was someone he was looking for, but who?

"Can I have this dance?"

Tony looked up at the faint Brooklyn accent. A man with tight pants and a billowy shirt held his hand out, the shirt open and dipping down low enough to show off his sculpted chest. He wore a white domino mask over his eyes, but he was still very handsome with a strong jaw. This, Tony decided, was a very nice place if there were more people like him around.

"I..." Tony said, shaking his head to clear it. What was wrong with him? "Sure?"

He stood there for a moment, feeling more awkward. It was like he had a name on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't think of it for the life of him. Ginger? Salt? Something that should keep him from dancing with a strange man because he liked it so much, but he couldn't think of it. "I'm forgetting something," Tony said, far more distressed than he meant to be. "I'm forgetting. Why am I forgetting?"

"The important things will come back to you once you're out of here if you concentrate," the man said. "But you can't leave until the drug has worked its way through your body, otherwise someone who wants to hurt you will have more control over what you remember."

"Drug?" Tony asked. "Did you-"

"No," the man replied, angry. Then he deflated. "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you from it. It won't hurt you permanently though, and I brought you here to help your mind recover from the worst of the effects."

"Oh," Tony said, looking around again. It was still kind of creepy, but at least it was safe, he supposed. "You couldn't have picked a less creepy setting?"

"You chose it," the man muttered, shaking his head.

That meant Tony's head was the one that was creepy and fucked up. Somehow, Tony wasn't surprised. "So like, is the dancing supposed to help with this drug?"

"No." There was a faint blush on the man's cheeks as he looked down. "I just wanted... It's okay if you don't. I know you could have anyone, and you're really smart, so you don't need-"

"Okay," Tony said, cutting the man off so that the heat in his own cheeks would stop. Starks were supposed to have no shame.

"Okay?"

"Let's dance." Because there was something about this man who thought Tony was out of his league but could probably get more attention than Tony. If anything, Tony was pretty sure the man was out of _his_ league. Most people only sought out Tony for his money, not his winning personality, but Tony was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Tony had hated the dance lessons his mother tried to get him to take when he was younger. He skipped most of them, playing hooky with the tool set Jarvis had gotten him for Christmas and working on his first (failed) attempt at a robot. He had certainly never followed before, and after a brief awkward moment where he tried to remember what position the leader's hands should take, the mystery man made the choice for him.

Tony fell into following naturally as the unearthly music continued to play. He felt like he was gliding across the floor with stolen grace as the masked man spun them around. The fact that he only half-remembered the box-step barely seemed to matter as the other dancers faded into the background. He wondered if this was just part of the dream, because it had seemed much harder than the few classes he'd been forced into attending.

"I shouldn't trust you," Tony said as the man spun him out. "You could be lying about why I'm here."

"I could be, but I want to help you," the man replied, catching Tony's hand and drawing him back into closed position. His blue eyes peered through the mask at him. They were the saddest shade of cobalt that Tony had ever seen.

Unable to deal with those eyes, Tony looked down. He wasn't good with emotions, his or anyone else's. He didn't know how to deal with that much sorrow, not when it was shown so openly.

The hand on his back was strong and steady, the leads gentle, but clear. Tony lost himself to the music, dark and melodic in ways Tony was sure he'd never heard before, but pulled him in. It felt like he was only halfway attached to his body, while the rest of him belonged to the beat.

He wasn't aware he was crying until there was a hand on his cheek, brushing them away. Tony jerked back, bumping into another dancer. "What- Why am I crying? That's not-" he said as he rubbed his eyes furiously. Why did he have to start crying while dancing with a hot guy?

"It's okay," the man said, pulling Tony out of the way of the other dancing couple. "It's your memories. You're grieving."

"They _suck_ ," Tony said, wincing as his voice broke. He didn't even know who he was grieving for, but he couldn't fight the broken feeling that overwhelmed him. It left him hollow and empty, like he'd never been good enough. But now they were gone and he couldn't...

"Shh," the man said, pulling Tony back against him. Tony didn't fight it this time, resting his head against the man's shoulder so he could at least hide his eyes. The arms around him were no longer in a dance hold, but the man still swayed them slowly to the music.

The feeling didn't subside, but Tony finally got a hold of it. The tears stopped, but the swaying didn't, even though the music was long since gone. Instead the masked man was humming softly, a tune that Tony didn't recognize. It sounded nothing like the music from earlier, but old fashioned. Like the kind his mother would play at the piano on the rare occasions he saw her happy.

"It'll come back," the man promised.

The one thing Tony did know was that he didn't want to keep thinking about how he was never good enough, or about this grief that refused to leave him alone. Fortunately, he knew a solution to that.

Lifting his head from the man's shoulder, Tony didn't think about what he was doing.

"Tony, are you-" the man started to say. Tony cut him off as he leaned up the short distance to claim those inviting lips.

He could feel the surprise in the man's shoulders - Tony didn't even know his name, fuck. But it didn't matter. He could feel the man _melt_ , his mouth going slack enough for Tony's tongue to slip in and sample the sweet invitation he found there. He could feel the grief slip to the back of his mind - still there, but caught in a stronger tide of arousal and an aching need to chase after the longing he had felt from the other man. The feeling of being needed soothed out the grief in a way that Tony couldn't ignore.

Then there were hands on his shoulders, pushing him back.

"What?"

"Tony, don't."

Tony opened his eyes to see that his masked man of mystery looked distressed. "Did I... was it not good?" Tony asked, self-consciousness hitting him harder than most of his usual flings did. He may not know the guy's name, but he was more important than a fling. "I can make it good. I'll do better so-"

"No, Tony. That's not..." The man said, rubbing his forehead. "You wouldn't want this."

Tony took a step back, shaking his head at the words. "What the hell? What are you talking about?"

"You don't know what you're doing."

"And you do?" Tony spat.

"No, that's not..." the man let out a growl of frustration. "You don't remember everything. You're in no condition to consent."

They were further away from the other dancers, Tony realized, closer to an isolated section of the hall. They were alone enough that Tony _should_ start to worry, but instead he pushed the man against the wall. "You don't get to tell me what I want," Tony said, biting lightly at the man's lip before pushing into a proper kiss. He could hear the man's whimper. This he knew. This he was _good_ at. He didn't have to think about the aching grief or how much he didn't understand. He could make someone feel good, even if Tony himself couldn't.

But there were hands on his shoulders pushing him away again, and Tony was about to snap at the stranger again when he caught the look of anguish on his face. "You don't want it?" Tony said, jumping back. That was a different matter entirely. Had he made a mistake? Maybe the man wanted to lead? Tony was okay both ways. "Did I do something wrong? I can make it good, I promise. Or-"

"Tony, I..." the man said, closing his eyes. His cheeks were flushed and his lips were a little swollen, enough that Tony felt like he'd left the job half done. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why?"

The man took a deep breath then let it out, as if he were steadying himself for whatever came next. "Not here," he said. "Not while you're... After, if you still want to. But not now."

"But you don't think I'll want to after I remember," Tony said.

"It's complicated," the man said. "You think... there's a lot more at stake."

"And you're not going to tell me any of it, are you?" Tony asked bitterly.

The man smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, but a lopsided thing that looked more sad than happy. "The result will be the same, no matter what you do. One way or the other... and that'll be okay. It's my choice, Tony. I want you to remember that. My choice."

"That is seriously not comforting," Tony said, shaking his head. If the guy was always like this, Tony could see being annoyed with him. "Look, if you're so concerned about my consent, then how do I get out of here?"

"The way will open soon," the man said, a far-off look in his eye as he spoke. "The drug is still too strong right now. Until then..."

"Until then?" Tony asked as the man trailed off.

A gloved hand took Tony's, and he only had a brief moment to catch his breath before the masked man bowed down to kiss his hand. His eyes were closed as the soft lips caressed Tony's knuckles, but Tony couldn't look away. "Can we continue our dance?" the man asked as he opened his eyes, a melancholy look to them that the smile couldn't quite hide. "Please, just one last dance."

Tony wanted to say no. This guy was too confusing, jumping between wanting Tony and turning him down. He wouldn't tell Tony anything _useful_ either. But there was a sorrow and kindness about him that was undeniable. Tony couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted the man to smile, really smile again, like when Tony had agreed to the first dance. "I..."

Tony ducked at the loud crash, letting the man pull him close and under his cape as some of the other dancers screamed. "What-"

"You won't win," the man growled. Tony started, before realizing that the anger wasn't directed at him.

He looked up to see another man standing in front of them. He had dark hair under a golden horned helmet, and an ostentatious green and gold outfit, complete with cape. He had a cruel smile on his face that caused Tony to step back - right against his mysterious dance partner's chest. The man's arm wrapped around Tony's waist to keep him from moving away, though he didn't feel trapped by it.

"Neither will you," the other man said, pointing his staff at Tony. "Give him to me."

"Loki, don't use him for this," his dance partner growled. "It's me you want!"

"Who..." Tony asked as his head started to feel fuzzy again. 'Loki' was a friend, wasn't he?

"I won't let you hurt him," the man beside him said.

"You won't be able to do much of anything," Loki said as the staff started to glow. Some kind of energy shot out from it, and Tony turned as his dance partner cried out, letting go as he was pushed back against the wall.

"Don't hurt him!" Tony shouted, pushing through the molasses that slowed his thoughts.

"Then come with me," Loki said, his hand outstretched. "Complete your task, human, then you can go back to your friends."

"My... friends..." Tony searched his memories for names or faces, but he couldn't find any. He wavered at taking Loki's hand, stepping back. This felt wrong.

His dance partner roared, striking Loki with a vicious upper cut. "Tony, run!"

"I..." He didn't even know the man's name.

" _Run_ ," the man repeated, crying out as Loki grabbed his arm with a surprisingly blue hand. "Go!"

He hated this. Everyone was always telling him to run, and he was useless. But not this time. Tony looked around frantically, catching sight of a table with hors d'oeuvres. He grabbed a silver plate, not caring as the food spilled on the ground. Then he ran up to the two men fighting. He waited for his chance, then whacked Loki on the head as hard as he could.

Loki's helmet flew off, and Tony nearly brought it around a second time when he felt someone grab his arm none too gently. He started to swing the plate again, stopping at the last second when he saw it was the masked man. "You-"

The man tugged him along, half picking Tony up to carry him. "Do you not understand 'run'?" the man hissed.

"Only the part where it means I keep having to leave people behind," Tony snapped back as they pushed through the dancers. He didn't know where that thought had come from, but the anger felt real enough.

"Sam said you'd be trouble," the man said, but under the exasperation there was profound adoration to the man's voice.

"Who's-"

There was screaming from the other dancers, and only the hand on his back kept him from turning around to look.

"When I say run, I mean it this time," the masked man said. "Loki can overpower me here, but he can't actually hurt me. He _will_ hurt you."

"I don't even know who you _are_ ," Tony said. It was one thing to dance with someone nameless, but getting 'over-powered' or whatever the fuck that meant, that was another matter entirely.

"No one important," the man said, his accent slipping through a bit stronger. Tony turned to look at him, surprised by the grin under the mask. "Just a kid from Brooklyn. Now _run_."

This time Tony didn't need the small push on his shoulders. He took off through the myriads of dancers, pushing his way through. He heard more screams behind him, but one faceless mask blurred into another until Tony couldn't tell if he was running past different people or not.

Finally he got to the edge of the room. But there were no doors or halls to run into, just a round reflective wall that Tony thought he could see a city behind. He pounded on it a few times before giving up and looking around.

There was a chair nearby and Tony picked it up by the back. If he could just smash through, then-

"You do that and I can't help you save your friends," Loki said, tsking.

Tony spun around, chair still in hand. He only saw Loki standing there, glowing staff looking more menacing than Tony remembered it to be. "Stay back," he said, holding the chair in front of him as his back hit the glass wall. "Where's-"

Shaking his head, Tony blinked to clear his thoughts. His dance partner. No name. What he could see of the man's face behind the mask was rapidly slipping through his memories. Tony jerked the chair back up as Loki took a step forward, unaware of when he had lowered it. "Stay back!"

"You want to help your friends, don't you?" Loki said reasonably. "Rhodey and Pepper. Even your parents. You can save them, but only if you trust me."

"Rhodey..." Tony said, anxiety filling him. Pepper and his parents just left him with grief. He couldn't picture any of them, but the name Rhodey felt warm. Someone who had been hurt because of Tony. "Rhodey."

"That's right," Loki said, holding out his hand as the chair came to rest on the ground. "I can help you save them. But only if you help me first. Take my hand, and this will all be over."

Rhodey. Pepper. His mother. Tony could feel the memories on the tip of his mind, but he couldn't quite find them. He knew he had to help them, but that was all. "You'll help them?" Tony asked, trying to push his thoughts to work at a normal pace.

"I promise," Loki said, hand still outstretched.

He could help them. He needed to help them. Tony started to reach out, but pulled back just before he touched Loki's hand. Loki was...

"Take my hand," Loki said. "And I will make your troubles disappear."

" _Tony, run!_ " a voice said. The voice. His mysterious dance partner! But Tony didn't see the man anywhere. Instead there was a giant owl diving down at a screaming Loki.

"You won't win," Loki hissed as he shot an energy blast at the owl.

" _Run,_ " the voice said again as the owl's claws tore at Loki's face.

Tony picked up the chair again and turned to the wall. Taking a deep breath, he brought it down against the glass as hard as he could.

The world shattered around him as he floated down, screams and the sound of breaking glass the only thing he was aware of. The last thought he had as he hit the ground was that he still didn't know the masked man's name.


	5. Chapter Five

"Hey, kid. Ya gonna wake up any time soon?"

Tony blinked awake, groaning as he sat up from the ground. Had he gone on a bender? It didn't feel like he'd been drinking, but his head was fuzzy. "Rhodey?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry, but no cigar."

Looking around, Tony found the source of the voice. Along with a really freaky glittery forest that Tony had no idea how he'd gotten to, there was a grumpy dwarf who had ice blue eyes. Whatever he had taken last night, Tony swore never to take it again. "Who are-"

"Clint," the dwarf said. "I thought your memory would be a bit fuzzy after the attack, but I hoped you'd at least remember my name. I'm helping you get through the Labyrinth."

"Labyrinth?" That did seem familiar, but this looked more like a fairy forest than a labyrinth with all the glitter on the leaves and bark. Tony wondered if it was possible to acid trip back to the 80s, because that was the only place he knew with that much glitter. Whatever fairy forest this was, he didn't like it. Fairies...

"To save your friends," Clint said, jarring Tony away from the faint memory associated with the word. "Rhodey and Pepper?"

"Rhodey and..." Tony's eyes went wide as he scrambled to his feet. Pepper was dead. Rhodey was going to be hurt. And he had been just lying on the ground, sleeping! "I have to... solve the Labyrinth to save them," he said as he looked around. Pepper was dead, but he could still save her somehow. He remembered that much.

"And kill the evil king," Clint added. "Don't worry, kid. We'll save your friends."

"Yeah," Tony said, closing his eyes in order to calm down his racing heart. The evil king... "I, uh, thanks for helping me. Sorry I didn't recognize you, Gimli."

The dwarf smiled, but something about it felt cold. "The name's _Clint_ , and it's not your fault. The evil king tried to mess with your memories to stop you from going further, and I couldn't fend off the attack soon enough. Sorry about that."

Tony got to his feet and waved Clint off. It still felt like something was missing. Something important. "I still can't remember..."

"Hey," Clint said, his smile warmer. "You'll get them all back eventually, I'm sure."

"Okay," Tony said, rubbing at his temple. Something didn't feel right, but Clint seemed kind, if distant. "Where are we?"

"Close to the goblin city," Clint said, pointing through the glitter trees. Tony was relieved more than he could say. His trip through the Labyrinth was fuzzy, but he did know it hadn't been easy. "Let's get you back to those friends of yours."

"Yeah," Tony said, sharply missing Pepper's smile and Rhodey's laugh. Soon. The first thing he wanted when he got back was a hug from Rhodey. "This way?"

"Just stay close," Clint said, a bow and arrow in hand as he led the way. "There's some of the evil king's forces nearby, and they'll do anything to stop you."

Nodding, Tony followed after the strange dwarf who fought with bows and arrows. Because apparently dwarves did that. Despite the glitter, the trees were dark and a little frightening, but he wasn't alone and that helped. Clint didn't talk much, which bothered Tony more than he wanted to admit. He hated silence. But for some reason, Tony couldn't break it. He also couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and it stopped him from rambling.

Thankfully it was only twenty minutes before they came to a large gate. It was brown and deserted, leaving Tony feeling cold as he stood in the wall's shadow.

Clint motioned for him to be quiet, then slowly pushed open the massive doors. It didn't creak like Tony half-expected it to. Bow still raised, Clint peered inside, then motioned Tony closer. There were hideous beings all over the streets, tall and highly armored. All of them were grey and holding frightful looking weapons. It was only Clint's hand on his arm that kept Tony from making a noise, and Tony belatedly realized Clint had lowered his weapon to comfort him.

"Chitauri," Clint said, his voice low. "We can't let them see you."

Tony nodded numbly, and Clint squeezed his hand before letting go to cock an arrow. 

The city itself was brown and dirty-looking, though the houses looked new enough. There were some grotesque statues that were crude even for Tony's tastes, goblins probably? Tony forced himself to focus on the Chitauri and Clint and not the city itself, only moving when the dwarf motioned him to come out of the shadows. The Chitauri were practically crawling over the drab city, even with patrols on the rooftops.

Clint took him through some back alleys and after a while Tony started to be able to see the pattern in their patrols. He wondered if Clint had fought the Chitauri before, to already know the patterns so well. He could see the approval in Clint's eyes as Tony stayed close to the wall to avoid the massively ugly creatures even before Clint's hand wave, and that warmed him.

In fact, it was going far _easier_ than Tony would have thought possible. He was no spy expert, but he was pretty sure it was usually harder to sneak through a city overrun by a hostile army. Something about that bothered him, something about Clint's eyes... but he couldn't grasp hold of the memory, and he shook it off. He could chase after that later when he wasn't sneaking through a goblin city over run by monsters.

They reached the steps of a big castle that looked much older than the rest of the city. It was looming and imposing, and Tony gulped as he thought about going in there. The steps were also completely in the open, free of Chitauri. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be free of the monsters for long.

Clint pulled him aside, icy eyes taking in the surroundings. "You're going to have to go in alone from here," he said.

"What? I can't-"

"Someone's got to hold them off, and I'm pretty sure only a human not already in tune with the magic of this place can enter. Don't worry. There shouldn't be anyone else in the castle but the evil king."

"Because going against an evil king will be easy," Tony muttered.

"He should be asleep from the spell Loki placed on him," Clint said, shaking his head. He rubbed at his eyes then sighed. "I don't like this. You're too young to have that sort of blood on your hands."

"He's the one who's controlling Hydra," Tony said, bracing himself.

"Got it in one, kid," Clint said sadly.

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The one who hurt Pepper and Rhodey...

A steel anger settled in his chest as he opened his eyes. Even if there was nothing else he could do, he would avenge Pepper. "I don't have anything to kill him with," Tony said, pushing aside his uneasiness.

Clint shook his head, then unsheathed a dagger from his belt. It was a little large for a dwarf, but when Tony grabbed the hilt, he found it was just the right size. The blade seemed simple enough, but there was a strange power coming off it that made Tony's head hurt a little. "You know how to use it?" Clint asked.

"Pointy end goes in the magically sleeping asshole. How hard can it be?" Tony asked, gripping the dagger tighter. "He's going to pay for what he did."

"Good luck," Clint said, cocking an arrow and taking aim at the nearest Chitauri.

"Are you - Look out!"

A falcon flew past Tony, claws aimed at Clint's eyes. Tony was pushed aside, and he heard the sound of an arrow as he stumbled back. By the time he looked up, Clint's cheek was bleeding and the falcon had an arrow in its wing as it tried to right its descent.

"Don't!" Tony shouted as Clint cocked another arrow. "Don't hurt him!"

The words left his mouth before Tony realized what he was doing. The falcon had been attacking Clint, so why was he concerned over the bird's safety? How did he even know it was a male falcon anyway?

"Down!" Clint shouted, tugging his arm forcefully. Tony yelped as he went down as some kind of energy bolt flew past his head. Clint had already let go, arrow flying before Tony could blink. "Go, kid! You'll be safe in the castle," Clint said, shooting one of the Chitauri. Tony belatedly realized he shouldn't have shouted.

"Don't hurt the falcon," he said, sneaking behind a really grotesque fountain.

Clint rolled his eyes, but nodded as he shot two more arrows. "Just go."

Tony hesitated. The falcon was no longer in sight, but he couldn't just leave Clint, could he? "You-"

"Don't worry about me," Clint said. "Go into the castle and end this. I'll be fine."

End this. That he could do. With one last backward glance at Clint, he sprinted up the steps to the castle. He heard more energy shots, but he didn't look back to see if he needed to dodge, hoping he was moving fast enough. His shoe caught on a step, but Tony found his balance before he went down and he took the first corner he came to, bending over to breathe as stopped, finally risking a look back.

He could still hear the sounds of the fight, but no one had followed him up the steps. Clint was right in that they wouldn't follow him here. Shaking his head to clear it, Tony looked around. The castle looked like a frat party had happened to it, food half-eaten and thrown all over the place. And was that a _chicken_ just wandering around? The furniture was in pieces, and Tony wondered what it had looked like under the good king. It certainly wasn't a grand castle now.

There was a cry from the window, and Tony turned to see the falcon from earlier. He still had the arrow caught in his wing, though part of the shaft had broken off. Tony automatically took a step forward to help before he remembered that falcons were dangerous and this one had attacked his friend. "I..." Tony said, rubbing his temple. "Why do I feel like I know you?"

The falcon hopped to the ground, obviously in pain as it moved. Tony hesitated a moment longer before kneeling down beside it. "Hey, don't. You're making it worse."

Thankfully, the falcon didn't attack him when he got close, and Tony tentatively reached out to stroke his head. The bird leaned into Tony's fingers, chirping encouragingly.

"Okay then," Tony said, feeling wildly out of his depth. "But if I know you, why did you attack Clint? He's a friend, right?"

Brown wings flared out before the falcon cried out again, his wounded wing falling lamely. Whatever statement the falcon had been trying to make, Tony couldn't translate it. However he did know that wing was only going to get worse if the falcon kept moving around like that. "I should take that out," Tony said, reaching for the arrow.

He nearly got a sharp beak snapping his fingers off for his efforts. "Do you want me to take it out or not?" Tony asked sharply.

To Tony's amazement, the falcon shook his head.

"Wait, you understand me?" Tony asked. The falcon nodded.

One day, Tony was going to stop being surprised by how trippy this place was. But that day was not today.

"So, what? I should just leave it in there?" Tony asked uncertainly.

Instead of replying, the falcon bent down to the front of his wounded wing. He used his beak to bite at the frayed end of the arrow, then turned to the back of his wing. He made a motion, showing Tony he couldn't reach the other side of the arrow.

"You can't reach the other side?" Tony asked, trying to work out why that was important. It would be easy just to pull out the arrow once... Oh! "You want me to break off the other side?"

The falcon nodded.

That made sense. Tony belatedly remembered reading somewhere that the arrow shaft was probably better left in until there was proper treatment. Blood loss or something. "I... okay," Tony said, not wanting to think about _how_ he was going to break it off.

The falcon crouched low so Tony had better access to the back of his wing, and Tony carefully reached over to the arrow shaft. Tony touched the shaft, classifying it as some unknown material that was light, but when he tried to bend it, it held strong. He didn't have anything to cut it with, though it shouldn't be too hard if the falcon had taken off the first half with his beak. Too bad with that live chicken walking around there wasn't any kind of butcher knife.

Then he remembered the dagger Clint had given him. He unsheathed it and looked at the wing again, swallowing hard. The bad feeling about the dagger returned two-fold, but the falcon didn't seem bothered by it. "This will probably hurt," he said.

The falcon nodded, talons tightening around the perch it had settled on. Carefully, Tony put the arrow shaft as close to the table as he dared, then he took a deep breath and brought the dagger down.

Tony winced as the falcon cried out, but the arrow shaft thankfully snapped cleanly in two. He didn't think he could have managed a second time if it hadn't broken. "Hey," Tony said, rubbing the falcon's head as the bird trembled. "I'm sorry. Are you okay? Please be okay. I didn't know how to - I'm sorry. I should have done it better. Are you-"

Tony cut himself off as the falcon weakly pressed into his hand. He was still trembling, and Tony's hands were shaking as he sheathed the dagger, but the falcon didn't seem to be dying because of what Tony did. Which was more of a relief than Tony wanted to think about. "Great," Tony said, petting the falcon as gently as he could. He had no idea if the falcon liked that sort of thing, but the bird didn't seem to be against it. "Okay. You're okay. I'll just..."

 _Clint._ The sounds of fighting had died off, but he had to do something about that army out there. "I have to go," Tony said, though he didn't just want to leave the falcon there. "I have to help Clint because he's, what do you mean, no? I shouldn't help Clint?"

The hawk shook his head again. "Look, I know he hurt you, but I can't just-"

"Step back from the falcon. It's dangerous," a familiar voice said.

Tony turned to see a guy in a green and gold number with a funky helmet that would give opera singers a run for their money. He held a staff pointed directly at Tony. Or rather, at the falcon that Tony was still in front of. "Who are you?" Tony asked, shaking his head. Unlike Clint, this guy _did_ at least seem familiar. "He hasn't hurt me."

"He works for the evil King," the man said. "He helps Hydra, who were behind the murders of your parents."

Tony stepped away from the falcon, betrayed. It was shaking its head again, mantling the best it could with one lame wing. Its eyes were bright and intelligent, and Tony could read the angry denial in them even if the falcon couldn't speak to defend himself. "Maybe it's a different one?" Tony said, turning back to face the man. "Just let him go."

Tony didn't know why he trusted the falcon, but he couldn't let anyone kill him, not even someone... the man felt familiar, but Tony couldn't get a clear feeling of if he was trustworthy or not. Either way, he _did_ trust the falcon, and he wasn't going to let someone hurt him.

"It will call the others and try to stop you from getting your revenge," the man said, but he lowered his staff. Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

Then the man raised his hand and a small hood and strips of leather appeared. "Though perhaps you are right. Killing it would not be wise. I propose a compromise."

"Compromise?" Tony asked, looking at the leather in the man's had. The falcon behind him sounded distressed, so he didn't move.

"We keep it here until the fight is over," the man said. "This won't hurt it. It will only prevent it from betraying us, and the jesses will keep it from flying off."

"The falcon's a he," Tony insisted. But it sounded like a fair plan. Tony didn't like the thought of caging the falcon, but if it kept this man from killing him, the falcon would at least be _safe_. Not to mention he probably shouldn't be going anywhere with his wing as mangled as it was. It could at least work until the man was distracted enough that Tony could set the falcon free. "And you won't hurt him?" Tony asked, wavering.

"I won't harm a feather," the man promised. Tony looked back to see the falcon hopping from a chair to the table next to the window. "Hey, no! You're going to hurt yourself!" Tony said, rushing over. But the falcon was already jumping out the window, gliding away.

Tony couldn't shake the feeling of abandonment as he watched the falcon disappear into the fight below. The battle against the Chitauri monsters still seemed to be going strong, even if the sound was oddly muted now. There were others fighting, but who...

"You must come quickly," the man said, his voice cold. "He will betray us to the enemy."

"How do you know?" Tony asked, his shoulders slumped.

"Everyone betrays you in the end, Tony Stark," the man said. "They only help you as long as it's in their own self-interest. That's why needing help from other people is a weakness. They will only exploit it. Your father taught you that, didn't he?"

Tears are a sign of weakness, he reminded himself as he blinked them back. "How do I know _you_ won't betray me?" he asked. "I don't even know your name."

"You don't know," the man said. "But we have the same goal for now. You want to protect your friends, and I want to free this world. The only way to achieve both of those things is to kill the King. As for my name, you'll remember it soon enough."

Tony nodded, looking at the stairs that presumably went further up into the castle. "He's up there? Then let's get this over with."

"I can only follow you in shadow," the man said, shimmering softly. Suddenly there were two of the man, one lighter and pale, almost see-through. "No one but you can physically go up there. But I will guide you the best I can."

Tony gripped the dagger Clint had given him. "Okay, lead the way."

They took the stairs quickly, but not so fast that Tony was out of breath. He was a little disoriented, catching other stairs or hallways out of the corner of his eye that disappeared when he tried to get a better look. He saw a flash of his mother, and Tony tripped, barely catching himself before he broke his nose on the steps. "What? Mom is-"

"She is dead," the man said as Tony saw another flash, this time of Howard laughing in a way that Tony had never seen him do before. He looked like those old photographs of Howard when he was younger, and Tony couldn't help but hunch over at the sight. "These are phantoms made to convince you to stray from the right path. I am trying to shield you from them, but the magic here is very strong. You must keep going."

Tony swallowed, then used the rail to pull himself up. He ignored the flash of a car spinning out of control. Closing his eyes as he heard his mother scream, Tony pushed onward.

He opened his eyes again at the sound of a heart monitor flat-lining. Pepper was on the table, her red hair standing out against her pale face. The image was gone before he could blink, replaced with a bloody and beaten Rhodey, his arm cradled against him. "Rhodey!" Tony yelled, moving away from the rail.

"Stay on the stair!" the man shouted, and Tony stepped back, seeing the steep fall where Rhodey had been. He gripped the rail again, willing the visions to go away.

The rail ended and Tony looked around frantically. "Through here," the man said, standing in the door way. It was just far enough that Tony had to let go of the rail.

His heart was beating rapidly. What if this was another trick? One of those horrible visions, or what if the man had betrayed him after all? What if he-

"Hurry!"

He had no choice. He let go of the rail, praying that it was the right way.

He stumbled into a room, relieved to find that it looked _normal_. Tony leaned against the wall as he tried to regain his breath and calm down his heart.

When he opened his eyes, Tony took a better look around. There was a window to the right, lighting the room with the pale sunlight of this world. A table stood to the side of it, with some drawing materials laid out on it and a half-finished drawing. To his surprise, it looked like _him_ on the paper, and Tony took a step back. He quickly looked away, seeing a dresser and a bed with drab-colored curtains hanging around it. The man he'd been following was no where in sight.

The room was fairly plain, aside from the curtains on the bed. He was the only one in the room unless the bed was occupied, which it might be. Tony would have to push the curtains away, but if it was the evil King...

Tony steeled himself, his grip around the dagger tightening. He could do this. He was going to avenge his parents and save Rhodey and Pepper. This was the monster behind Hydra.

Anger slowly stilled his trembling fingers, and he walked up to the bed. This ended now.

Tony drew the curtains away to see a man in a full-faced mask. The man was dressed in surprisingly simple clothes despite the grotesque mask. Black thigh-high boots while in bed was a bit strange, but Tony could forgive that for the sinfully tight pants that left little to the imagination. Neither did the shirt for that matter, for all that it was poofy and loose. The low neck line dipped down, showing off a well-sculpted chest.

In fact, the man could have very well been a wet dream born from too many times lusting after Westley in _The Princess Bride_ , if not for the horribly misshapen mask with the long nose. The mask held most of his attention with its terrifying visage. He could barely see the man's eyes in the only two holes in the mask, and they were shut in what looked like pain.

"You must kill him quickly," his mystery helper said, his voice causing Tony to jump. Tony looked over at the doorway to see the green and gold helmeted tragedy scowling at him. "You are running out of time to save your friends."

Tony looked at the dagger Clint had given him, then down at the sleeping man's face. "I just... stab him?" Tony asked, feeling horrified when faced with the actual deed.

"He murdered Howard and Maria Stark," the man said, coming no further into the room. "He also killed Pepper and will kill Rhodes. And they'll both stay dead, unless you kill him now. You want to save your friends, don't you?"

This was the man who murdered his parents. Except aside from the mask, the man didn't _seem_ evil. For some reason, all Tony could see was a pair of cobalt blue eyes filled with melancholy as they looked at him, and he felt a burning on the back of his hand like a pair of phantom lips branding his skin.

Tony gripped the dagger tighter in one hand, then reached out to the mask with the other.

"Don't touch it!" the man snapped, and Tony pulled his hand back just before his fingers brushed it. "That's what keeps him asleep. He'll kill more than Rhodes if he wakes up."

Tony shook his head to clear it. This was a _murderer_ , and he was being fancifully romantic. He raised the dagger, reaching deep for the anger that had nearly consumed him before. But it was replaced by the saddest pair of blue eyes.

The dagger dropped to the floor with a clatter and Tony took a step back. He couldn't do it.

"What are you doing, you fool! Kill him!" The man - Loki - yelled.

"I can't," Tony said, his heart racing. "He's not-" Or maybe the King was. Tony was always a terrible judge of character, aside from Pepper and Rhodey. And maybe Loki was right. Everyone might betray him in the end. But he couldn't stop hoping that this time would be different.

He reached toward to the mask, the power of it repulsing him, but he had to see the face underneath it to be sure. His finger brushed at the tip, moving it just slightly as a blinding light burst from the bed.

Then he hit the far wall, gasping for breath as his back hit the stone and pain traveled down his spine. His chest burned at the impact from something, but at least it didn't seem to break the skin or even his awful vest and peasant shirt. Tony looked up to see Loki's scepter pointed at him, the tip still glowing faintly. Well, that must have been what hit him. He wondered if he was ever going to learn his lesson about trusting people. It wasn't like Loki hadn't warned him.

"What are you doing?" Tony said as he struggled to his feet. 

"Kill the King and stop that force field, or I will make sure the pathetic excuses you call your friends stay dead," Loki growled.

"Don't touch them!" Tony shouted, his fingers curling into fists. He rushed at Loki, swinging as he went. But instead of punching Loki in his smug face, Tony went right through him. "You-"

"An illusion," Loki said, his voice to the right. Tony looked up just in time to see Loki move, but he couldn't counter fast enough. "But thank you for coming out of the King's protective barrier."

Tony's eyes went wide as his feet dangled in the air, Loki's hand at his throat holding him off the ground. He struggled, trying to claw at Loki's hand as he choked.

"It's a pity," Loki said. "If I could use the staff to control you, I could force you to do what I wanted, but then you couldn't get through the barrier. I'll just have to do this the hard way, since that new field won't hold off my army."

Digging his nails into Loki's hand did nothing, and Tony fought to breathe. He tried kicking, but he couldn't reach with the way Loki held him out. Damn, Loki was strong. What the hell kind of steroids was he on to look like a bean pole and lift Tony off the ground one-handed?

Loki's hand tightened around his throat as Tony gasped for air. "But that means I no longer require your assistance," Loki said as he walked to the window, not setting Tony down. "And I can't let you go out to help your little rabble, so I'm afraid you'll just have to die."

Bastard wasn't even breaking a sweat. Loki's hand tightened as Tony's vision started to tunnel. Then he was pushed out, the hand around his neck gone. So was the ground.

Tony screamed as he fell from the window. He couldn't-

He felt arms around his shoulders and legs, and he started to slow in his descent. "You need to cut back on the kitten treats," a voice grunted.

"Natasha!" Tony gasped, his vision slowly clearing as he started to breathe properly again.

"Also, you need a _leash_ if you keep wandering off like that and finding trouble," Natasha said, and Tony realized she was actually human-sized. "Do you know how long it took to-"

She cut herself off when Tony threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. He didn't even care that Natasha essentially had him in a bridal carry. How could he have forgotten her?

Natasha tightened her own grip around him as they gently touched down. "I've got you," she said as he gasped against her. It wasn't getting easier to breathe. There was something blocking his throat and he didn't realize it was a sob until it nearly tore through him.

He stomped down on the tears, refusing to cry again. That would help nothing.

Except Natasha was clutching back at him just as much. She didn't let go even when Tony's feet touched the ground.

Then he remembered. "Clint is-"

Natasha's grip turned to steel for a second before she forced herself to relax. "Still mind controlled. I should have seen that sooner."

"It wasn't your fault," Tony said, shaking his head

Natasha pulled away, her wings fluttering in agitation. They were large now, but still beautiful. The brilliant red gossamer shimmered in the pale light. "He's my best friend. I should have seen something was wrong. He could have hurt Laura and the kids, and he would never have forgiven himself for that. He _did_ hurt you. We found the poisoned peach he gave you. And I..."

Tony was at a loss of what to do. Natasha was turning away, _walking_ instead of hovering, which was weird and he hadn't even asked why she was suddenly big now. Except he couldn't bring up any of that since there were Emotions that he was going to fuck up the moment he opened his mouth, because he was Tony Stark and that's what Starks did.

"You caught me," Tony said, which wasn't what he'd meant to say at all. It wasn't even something he had _thought_ about saying. It just came out, and fuck, he was making this worse, wasn't he?

But Natasha was turning around with her eyebrow raised. At least she stopped leaving, even if Tony felt like an idiot. "So?"

"You always catch me," Tony said, looking down. "Because I always do something stupid and I can't fight. And I get in trouble all the time and I shouldn't need help, I know that. Dad always said needing help is a weakness. But you... even though I can't do anything right and I'm useless, you still catch me."

He jumped as her hand slid into his. Looking up as she squeezed his hand, he was surprised by the gentleness he saw in her face. "Your father was wrong," she said, her voice soft. "It's not a weakness to need other people. And you're not useless. If you hadn't befriended Hulk, we never would have gotten this far."

Tony looked away, his throat closing. "You always... Even right now, when you're hurting. But I don't know how to catch _you_."

Hesitant arms wrapped around his neck. "Natasha?" he asked, as she pulled him closer, hiding her face from him. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing. Did he hug her back? Did he just let her hug him?

"I promised Laura I'd bring Clint back," she said, and he could hear the fear in her voice. "But I don't..."

"We will," Tony promised automatically, not even sure he could follow through on that promise. He tentatively hugged her back, careful of her wings as she sighed against him. "Thor said it was some kind of artifact, right? So it..."

Tony trailed off. The ice blue of Clint's eyes suddenly seemed far more familiar. "Loki's staff! That has to be what's controlling him! It's the same color as his eyes, so it has to be... We can break the staff, or steal it, or... We'll figure something out."

"Loki's staff..." Natasha said, anger sharpening her voice.

He pulled back enough to see her. Natasha was _crying_ but she looked at him searchingly, eyes flickering as if she were checking for any tells that he might be lying. "We'll figure it out," he promised again. "We just have to get the staff from Loki. Hey, we can probably just send Hulk at him! What do you think?"

She let out a short breath that Tony _thought_ was more of a laugh than a sob. "I'd like to be there when Hulk tries," she said, nodding. She wiped her eyes, putting herself back together with a terrifying efficiency that Tony envied. It was scary how fast she transformed from vulnerable to impenetrable.

"You..." Tony said uncertainly, no longer able to tell where he stood.

"I needed to hear that," Natasha said quietly. "Thank you. You aren't the only one who sometimes needs to remember that having help isn't a weakness."

"Okay," Tony said, still feeling out of his depth. He didn't know if it was enough but... he would make sure Loki's staff was destroyed. He didn't know how, but he would. "Okay," he said again, trying to sort through his memories to see if anything else was still missing. "Before with Loki I saw... Sam!" The falcon, of course! That was Sam! His stomach twisted at the thought. "He was hurt! Do you know if-"

"Partially changing back like this didn't help the wound in his arm, but we got the arrow shaft out in time," Natasha said, looking tired. "He'll recover."

Tony hesitantly took her hand, and he smiled when she squeezed it back. "How are you this big anyway?" Tony asked. She was still a little shorter than him, but human sized.

Natasha shrugged. "We all were halfway to normal suddenly. It just... happened a few minutes before I caught you. Lucky for you, once Sam had a human mouth, he could tell us where you were."

So that was how Natasha had found him. It was a little strange to think of Natasha being this size all the time though. At least Sam was safe, but...

"We should head back to the others," she said. "Whatever happened, it pushed the Chitauri out as well and formed a barrier, but that won't keep the army out for long."

"So Loki _is_ a bad guy?" It was what Loki had told him the others would say, but something... There had been a dream that Tony could only half remember. It had dancing and glitter, and... Loki hadn't seemed very nice there.

"Kitten, if you're only just now figuring that out-" Natasha stopped, then shook her head. "Then again, he is a spectacularly good liar. Never mind. We should get-"

There was a pink poof of smoke and Tony started coughing. Then he panicked. He couldn't feel Natasha's hand! "Natasha!" he said between coughs. "Nat-" another coughing fit interrupted him.

"Don't call me Nat," she said, her voice resigned.

The smoke cleared as Tony waved the remainder of it away, glad the smoke was a temporary thing. Finally, he caught sight of Natasha, who was back to her normal size. Well, the size he was used to, at any rate.

"That didn't last very long," Natasha grumbled. "Can you think of anything that happened while you were in the castle? Did you touch anything while you were there?"

"Hey, this wasn't my fault," Tony grumbled.

"No, I mean to partially fix it," Natasha said. "Whatever you did must have just worn off, but if you can make it permanent..."

"Oh," Tony said, not used to doing things _right_ on accident. "I saw... the King?" Tony said, wondering how much of what Loki said was a lie.

"Steve?" Natasha said, fluttering closer. "You saw him? What happened to him?"

"He's sleeping," Tony said, hoping it was the right person. "He wouldn't... Loki said I had to kill him to save my friends." And now Pepper was going to stay dead, all because of him. And Rhodey-

"Steve can save them, if we can get things back to normal," Natasha said, as if she'd read his mind.

"He can?" Tony felt his voice break more than he heard it, "He can do that?"

"There are limitations and it's not easy, but we'll help your friends, I promise. He would move heaven and earth to help you," Natasha said. "Just as long as we can wake that sleeping idiot up. Did you do anything that could have changed things like it did? Because a barrier came up and forced the Chitauri out of the city after we changed back, and none of us can tell where it came from."

He had to think. _This_ could save Pepper and Rhodey, without having to kill anyone. "The mask!" Tony said. "The King, he was wearing this weird mask just like... Ozzy wears?" That gave him pause. "Wait, that _was_ Ozzy. He's the King? You told me not to trust him!" Damn, having his memories rearranged sucked.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You said he wouldn't tell you who he was."

"He said it wasn't important," Tony replied.

Natasha sighed, rubbing her palm to her forehead. "Of course not. Why would it be important for him to mention he's the King when your crush is being manipulated by Loki?" she said sarcastically. "What were you saying about the mask?"

"I touched the mask he wore for a moment," Tony said, having a hard time with the fact that 'Ozzy' was apparently Steve the Goblin King. "I've only seen him with the mask, is that normal? Loki yelled at me not to touch it."

"It's not normal, no," Natasha said thoughtfully.

"Then it's possible the mask might be the solution to these problems."

Tony jumped at the new voice. He turned around to see a man in a very skin-tight black suit and... a cat mask?

Tony was done being surprised by this place. Guys in black cat suits were the least of his worries.

"Your Majesty!" Natasha said, flying up to him. _Another_ king? "How did you - You had to know we can't get you back to your people right now."

"Director Carter asked me to investigate as she could not contact anyone here, and the threat has gone beyond what she and Deputy Director Fury can handle. They suspect a mole in their ranks, but without more resources, they cannot find it," the man said. "Things here appear to be dark as well, as the Labyrinth feels... unwelcoming."

"Well, we're glad to have you," Natasha said. "If you're referring to the army out there, we could use all the help we can get. Then we can see about setting your world to right."

"What, he's from my world?" Tony asked. Because no, all this crazy stuff was from _this_ world, not his. He was not okay with this.

The man pulled off his mask, revealing dark skin and facial hair that Tony was once again jealous of. What was it with everyone being unfairly attractive here? Even the dwarf was attractive, and he thought dwarves were supposed to be hairy, burly men. The guy in the cat suit alone could give Tony a complex, and he knew he wasn't too hard on the eyes himself.

"I am T'Challa, king of Wakanda," the man said with his hands behind his back. "And you are the young Stark heir."

He was never going to be able to live a quiet life where no one knew him before he knew them. "I thought Wakanda was an isolated nation?" he asked, a little awed to be in the presence of a king. Sure, he'd been in Steve's bedroom, apparently, but this was different. "Uh, Your Majesty," he added belatedly.

"Isolated, but not unaware," T'Challa said. "I am sorry to hear of your loss. But Director Carter will be pleased to hear you are well. She feared the worst when you disappeared."

Tony didn't know what to say to that, not when he barely knew the directors of SHIELD. It warmed a part of him that had been cold though, to know that _someone_ was looking for him.

"We should-" Natasha started to say. She was cut off by a scream.

T'Challa pulled the mask back over his head, actual _claws_ protracting from his gloves. Wakanda, Tony vaguely remembered from his geography lessons, had some really awesome technology. "Stay here," he ordered. "I will-"

"I know you saw the army, your majesty," Natasha said. "You'll need back up."

T'Challa nodded, then looked to Tony. It took Tony a moment to realize _why_. Right. Absolutely useless in a fight. He looked down.

"He'll be safer with us," Natasha said, surprising Tony. "Mostly because he needs a leash or he'll _find_ trouble. But he's still our best bet for saving Steve and ending this mess. You've been here too many times to pass through the barrier, but Tony-"

"Isn't yet in-tune with the magical energies of this place," T'Challa finished grimly. "And that makes him a target."

"I can take care of myself," Tony said. It was a lie, but if people were getting _hurt_ while they were sitting there arguing about what to do with him, then they needed to go.

"Even the lion cubs must train before they can hunt," T'Challa said, but his voice was kind.

"Just stay close," Natasha said, patting his cheek before he could reply. "Come on."

T'Challa took off running and Tony was hard put to keep up, but Natasha flew at his speed. The city itself still seemed quiet and deserted, even more so now without the army there. Still creepy and weird too, but at least he could vaguely remember where they were. They seemed to be going back to the gate.

He heard the large clanking sounds as they turned the corner, watching the glint of metal in the sun as T'Challa threw small knives at a...

"That is _awesome_ ," Tony said, freezing in place.

He took back anything bad he'd ever said about the Labyrinth. It had giant robots. Giant robots were so cool.

"Duck, you idiot!" Natasha hissed, and Tony only belatedly realized the robot was swinging an ax. It was thankfully slow, so Tony ducked under it as his mind raced over how to make it faster. Seriously, he could fix that and ditch the ax, because who needed an ax when-

"Pay attention!"

Tony was yanked to the side by a strong grip. He saw an older woman who looked like an elf more than a goblin, with slightly pointed ears. She was not as blindingly beautiful as everyone else here, but still very unfairly pretty. She definitely hadn't been the person screaming, not with the determined look in her eyes.

"Tony, stay with Laura," Natasha said as she dove under the large robotic arm.

"So," Tony said as Laura pulled him aside. "There are a lot of giant robots here?"

She laughed as they took shelter in a narrow alleyway between two off-color buildings. "Only this one, and it's usually on our side."

Tony felt an inordinate sense of disappointment at that. "How are you mixed up in all of this?" he asked, wondering what constituted for small talk in this place. Did they have goblin sports teams?

"I married Clint," she said with a shrug. "He's the one who likes saving the world. I take care of the kids and the farm while convincing him _not_ to remodel constantly."

Tony did a double take, wondering how a grumpy dwarf had managed to get someone way out of his league. Tony wondered if he should ask Clint for pointers once they got him back on their side. "You know he's-"

"I know," Laura said, looking down.

Tony had no idea how to comfort anyone. But he figured what he'd told Natasha would help, even if only a little. "We'll get him back."

"Damn straight we are," Laura said, pulling Tony down as the ax flew overhead.

So much for needing comfort.

The fight was getting vicious, but neither T'Challa nor Natasha were making a dent in the robot and Laura was starting to look worried. "It was all I could do to keep it away from the town," she said, shaking her head. "Once those aliens were pushed back, it started attacking."

Tony looked around, knowing that if Natasha and T'Challa couldn't do anything, there was probably very little he could do to help. He _hated_ being useless against a _giant robot_ of all things, the one thing he was supposed to be an expert on.

That's when he saw the stairs. It looked like they led up to the top of the city wall, which was just about as tall as the robot. "They're not doing enough damage, are they?" Tony asked, biting his lip. Natasha was too small to really get at the wires, and T'Challa was stuck on the ground.

"They're keeping it from doing more damage to the city. They can't seem to get close enough to get to the circuits," Laura said, but there was a resigned confirmation to her tone.

"Okay," Tony said, making up his mind. "Tell Natasha I'm going to start my own party."

"What are you-"

She was too late to grab him as he made a dash for the steps, taking them two at a time until he reached the top. While he wasn't particularly afraid of heights, it was a bit daunting having to run along the narrow wall. He didn't look down.

"Hey, Robot!" Tony yelled once he got close.

Natasha looked up, shaking her head curtly. He ignored her as the robot slowly turned towards him.

He'd had a nice life.

Tony jumped at the robot's head, barely managing to grab on as it swung away and tried to throw him off. He clung to the head for a moment, ignoring how people were yelling his name. "This looks important," he muttered as he reached in and grabbed some of the wires. He hissed as sparks hit his hand and blinked back tears at the burning, yanking as hard as he could.

"Whoa!" he yelled as he nearly fell off at the motion. Okay, that hadn't worked and now his hand hurt. Tony needed a better plan. Pulling himself up, he knocked on the top of the dome. He blinked as something banged back. There was someone _inside_ the robot.

Setting aside his absolute _glee_ at this development, Tony set about finding a way to open it. There had to be something. His arms ached from having to hang on, but he bit his lip and searched carefully along the seams of the dome. "Ha!" he said as his fingers found a button. He tightened his grip then pressed it.

The dome flipped up to reveal a very annoyed-looking dwarf with ice blue eyes. "Clint?"

He yelped as Clint grabbed for an arrow which had somehow fit in the dome, apparently about to stab him with it. But a falcon swooped down and plucked it from his grip, followed by a bolt of electricity from Natasha's bracelets.

" _Idiot_ ," she said as she flew closer to him.

"Don't knock it," Tony said, his foot slipping enough that he gave a small yelp. He got another glare before Natasha attacked the cockpit viciously.

Tony tried pulling himself up, only to be forced to duck from a flying squirrel with a hammer.

Whatever. Giant robots were cooler.

He managed to pull himself up just as Clint stood and left the controls to rappel down.

Natasha dove after him as Tony plopped into the driver's seat. There were a lot of controls, but it didn't seem that much different from a jet's controls, and he had built one of those when he was fourteen.

Tony heard a cry below, and he leaned out of the cockpit to see what was going on. On the ground Clint was knocked out, though Tony couldn't have said if it had been done by Natasha with her bracelets or Laura with a broken board in her hands, or some combination of the two.

"It is safe to come down, Tony Stark!" Thor called to him.

Tony looked down at the controls, mentally debating. He was in a giant robot. Surely it couldn't hurt to try it out, right? Having a giant robot would be useful against the Chitauri. "It's okay," he replied, sitting back in the cockpit. He reached for one of the controls. "I got this. I mean, how hard can it- Whoa!"

The giant ax the robot carried swung horizontally, causing the others to duck underneath it. "Sorry!" he called out, hoping the next button he pressed would stop the motion.

"Tony, get down from there!" Natasha said, her voice dangerously low.

Self-preservation should have kicked in, but instead Tony's back hit the chair as he figured out how to walk the robot forward. It was so _clunky_ , jeez, how did this thing even hit anything when it was so slow? Tony could make it much better. Smaller too. Yeah, smaller would be good, easier to maneuver and maybe he could make it _fly_ if it were lighter and-

" _Tony!_ "

"Just let me figure this out! I'm almost - Ah!"

Okay, he had really not meant to blow a hole in the city wall like that. "Sorry. That was my bad. I'll pay for-" Tony said as the smoke started to clear, revealing an army of those Chitauri monsters behind the wall. Oh, yeah. Natasha had mentioned they'd been blown out of the city, but apparently they were still trying to get in. "Oops."

He ducked down in the cockpit as energy blasts hurtled towards him and someone screamed his name, but nothing hit. There should have been some impact or recoil, but there was nothing. Taking a quick peek, Tony saw that the blasts were being harmlessly absorbed by some sort of energy barrier.

The energy barrier he was still moving towards, because he hadn't stopped the robot from moving. "Shit," he said, fiddling with the controls. "Where are the _brakes_ on this thing? Hey, stop! No, no, no, no-"

Tony yelped as he was lifted up by his shoulders on both sides, then pulled out of the cockpit just as the robot walked through the energy shield. Thor and Natasha let him down as the robot was quickly demolished by the Chitauri. "Hey!" Tony said, trying to walk forward. He was ready to punch the nearest Chitauri in the face for hurting the robot.

"That would not be a wise choice, Tony," T'Challa said in warning with a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"But they're hurting it!" Tony said.

"And you're going to get yourself killed!" Natasha said furiously, flying in front of his face. She looked... Tony was sure that there was a better term for 'really fucking pissed off' because that felt like too much of an understatement, but he couldn't think of anything else. He took a step back.

"Oh," he said, looking back at the army as he flushed. "I didn't think-"

"No, you didn't!" Natasha yelled. "You never do! You run off without thinking and get into more trouble. Is your ego that big that you can't stop and _think_ for a-"

" _Natasha_ ," T'Challa said as Tony's shoulders hunched over.

Natasha's hands were in fists. She flew off without a backwards glance before Tony could say anything. He watched her fly over to Clint and Laura, wings beating in rapid agitation.

He really fucked up this time, didn't he?

"She is angry," Thor said, patting Tony's leg. "Give her some time. Her worry can excite her temper, but it will cool."

Tony didn't look at Thor or T'Challa, watching the demolition of the one cool thing in this place from behind the safety of the barrier.

"This worries me," T'Challa said, pulling off his mask as he reached out to the barrier, though he didn't push through it. "I have never seen the like before, and the force it used to push the Chitauri out without affecting you is unsettling."

"Not all of us," Thor said, shaking his head. "It believed our friend Hulk to be a threat as well. Still, the last I saw of our green knight, he was enjoying the challenge."

"Hulk is out there?" Tony asked, his eyes going wide.

"He seems to prefer it," Thor said with a slight hint of approval as he eyed the Chitauri in a way that made Tony think he was considering joining Hulk. These people were crazy.

"Baby Stark has already trashed the robot?"

"Sam!" Tony said, turning to look back. Sam was smiling crookedly, his arm in a sling and looking haggard. "Your wing - er, arm?" Whatever.

Sam waved him off with his good hand. "Glad you remember me this time."

"I..." Tony said, looking down as Sam came closer. He wrinkled his nose as Sam ruffled his hair, scowling as he said, "Sorry."

"Loki was messing with your head. Natasha found the drugged peach," Sam said, still smiling kindly. Then he looked back to the carnage of the ruined robot. "Still, I think that's a new record for Starks. You couldn't have been in it for more than ten minutes while I was out trying to find a way into the castle."

"Three and a half minutes," Thor said.

Sam whistled and Tony looked between the two of them in confusion. "I can make a new one. A better one. I promise."

That set both Sam and Thor laughing. Tony looked to T'Challa to see if he knew what set them off, but the king tilted his head as if to say 'your guess is as good as mine,' except much more regally. At least Tony wasn't the only one lost.

"What's so funny?" he asked finally, feeling defensive.

"Sorry," Sam said, shaking his head. "Howard said the exact same thing when _he_ trashed the original robot."

Tony froze. Howard had made that robot? Natasha had said that Howard and Director Carter had worked together on a few things, but no one had mentioned that his dad had actually been here before. Tony had destroyed his robot. Howard and Obie had told him not to bother with robotics, because they weren't going to make money, not like weapons did.

Howard was still dead. He was still dead, but he’d never shut up.

Sam sobered immediately at Tony's expression, and Tony pretended not to see the pity in T'Challa's eyes. "Hey, sorry," Sam said softly. "I forgot that... Time passes differently in the other world, and things happened so fast here. Sorry, man."

"Whatever," Tony said, really _not_ wanting to think about how he was apparently once again just like dear old dad, the man who he never wanted to be like.

He had thought that here everyone had known him for being _Tony_ , but he'd been wrong. Howard's shadow stretched over him here as well.

He ignored Thor and Sam's worried glances, heading over to Natasha. He'd rather brave her wrath than deal with everything else right now.

T'Challa fell in step beside him as he walked, and Tony didn't know what to make of this king. Like, he could see a king ending up here, but T'Challa was taking an interest in him personally if that look was anything to go by. But why would a king want to talk to Tony?

Then again, having a king's interest was apparently becoming the norm here. At least this one wasn't stalking him and sneaking kisses.

"You have much anger over their deaths," T'Challa stated.

"Yeah? So what?" Was that what this was about? T'Challa thought he should be _sad_ over his father's death?

But T'Challa didn't look angry, or reproachful. "Are you angry at your parents' murder, or at your parents for dying?"

"Why do you care?!" Tony asked, turning to face him. "Your majesty," Tony added, still angry but, well, it was hard to forget that T'Challa was an actual king even without a crown.

T'Challa shook his head, a small smile quirking at his lips. "T'Challa is fine in private," he said, then more seriously, "And I know much of that kind of anger. My father was also murdered."

"I..." Tony said, anger leaving him. Had that even made the news? Wakanda was so secretive and Tony remembered hearing that there was a new king, but he hadn't been paying that much attention. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted," T'Challa said with a slight nod of his head. "The anger will consume you, if you let it."

"What difference does it make if it does?" Tony asked, kicking a pebble on the ground. 

"There is little to gain from it," T'Challa said, a haunted look in his eyes. "And much to lose. All I ask is that you consider it, to keep from making the mistakes I did."

Tony looked away, wishing it were that easy. He didn't want to feel this way, especially not over Howard. His mother...

T'Challa placed a hand on his back, solid and comforting. Tony focused on that to help blink back the tears. He didn't have time for this, not for tears or anger. He nodded his agreement, because he wasn't sure he could trust his voice right now. The temptation to start screaming or sobbing was too high.

Natasha at least wasn't glaring death at him when they walked up, but she didn't look at him either. Laura was finishing with the bindings on Clint's hands. "How do we know if it's really gone this time?" she asked as she straightened up.

"Thor?" Natasha asked. Tony lowered his eyes as she looked around, not quite daring to meet hers yet.

Thor stepped up, only a little shorter than Clint was. He touched the dwarf's forehead, closing his eyes. He stepped back after a moment. "My magic has never been strong, but I do not feel any of my brother about his mind now. Whatever was controlling him is gone."

Laura sighed, kneeling down beside Clint, open relief on her face. Natasha also relaxed, but it took Tony a moment to realize what had tipped him off. Her shoulders moved down a fraction of an inch, and her smile seemed a little more real. Tony wondered when he had started to be able to tell.

"Are you going to untie him?" Natasha asked.

Laura tilted her head as if considering it, a small smile on her lips that Tony honestly couldn't tell if it meant she was being innocent or devilish. "I kind of like him like this," she said, confirming devilish.

"TMI," Sam said, walking up. "I've told you, we really don't want to know about how kid number four is happening."

Tony was trying really hard not to think about sex between the elf-woman and a dwarf. It was not the kind of kinky he was into.

With Clint (still tied up) in Laura's lap, Natasha flew down, petting the dwarf's hair lightly. She didn't look up until T'Challa cleared his throat, then she pulled away, flying up to the rest of them. She still didn't look at Tony, which stung.

"What's the sitrep?" she asked.

"We cannot discern the origin of the shield," Thor said, shaking his head. "I like it not."

"I'm also uneasy about the shield. It is helpful, but at what cost?" T'Challa agreed.

Natasha shook her head. "Tony said Steve's mask was causing the problems with our forms, but the barrier..."

"Loki attacked the King," Tony said, not sure if it would help. "Then this light came out from the King, I think? It was bright, so I couldn't really see it, but maybe it was this barrier going up?"

All eyes were on him now. Tony was used to attention, but for some reason this time he just wanted to fade into the shadows.

"You're sure the light came from Steve?" Natasha demanded, meeting his eyes for the first time since she stormed off.

"I'm pretty sure?" Tony said.

Sam was cursing, and Natasha's fury doubled. "I'll kill him," she said simply.

"Not before I do," Sam said.

Thor's eyes were stormy as he gripped his hammer; Tony had never seen a squirrel look so threatening. "There may yet be time to stop him."

"What? What's wrong?" Tony asked, looking at all of them with wide eyes. Had he done something wrong again?

"The bastard is using his life force to charge the barrier," Sam said, no hint of the usual easy-going kindness in his face. "If it stabilizes like this, he will die, but the city will stay protected, which of _course_ he would think is a great idea. We need to get out there and-"

"You are wounded, my friend," T'Challa said.

"T'Challa is right," Thor replied. "You cannot fight in this condition. Transforming to help against the robot has weakened you further."

Sam looked about to argue, but Tony cut in. "As long as I wake the King up, it won't matter, right? Then no one has to fight."

Thor raised an eyebrow at him. "The army would still be there, but with the King awake, we could turn them back easily. The Labyrinth would return to that which Steve made it, and would aid us."

"Then I'll do that," Tony said, because the last thing he wanted was people getting hurt worse.

"We'll still have to fight," Natasha said, shaking her head. "But we could do it in our normal forms, which would also help."

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Natasha beat him to it. "You're the idiot who thought you could fly with an arrow in your wing and not make it worse. You stay out of this fight."

"Natasha," Sam growled.

"Take Tony as far as you can in the castle," Natasha said, then more calmly to T'Challa, "Could you go with them as well? You're still human, so you might..."

"I may not get much further than Sam due to how I've become attuned with the magic here, but I will go as far as I can," T'Challa promised.

So both of the unfairly attractive men were going with him. No, Tony didn't feel self-conscious at all. "I don't-" Tony started to say.

" _Go_ ," Natasha interrupted. "We don't have time to waste if Steve is killing himself by making that damned barrier."

Tony winced as Natasha fluttered off, making her way to the barrier. The dismissal _hurt_ , and he looked down as Thor approached Laura.

"Do you require assistance with Clint?" Thor asked.

"Go look after Nat," he heard Laura say. "I'll keep watch on the home front."

Thor flew off with a nod, and Sam sighed. He came up behind Tony, putting his good arm around Tony's shoulders. "Looks like we're both in the dog house with her," he said ruefully.

"Not as bad as Steve," T'Challa said with a hint of humor.

Sam winced. "Oh, yeah. That's one conversation I _don't_ envy him."

"I didn't mean to..." Tony started to say.

"She's just worried," Laura said. Tony looked up to see kind eyes smiling at him as she ran her hand through Clint's hair. "She wasn't allowed any personal possessions when she was a child, and the only family she had were the ones who cared more about turning her into a weapon than about her. So when she escaped from that life..." Laura trailed off, smiling at some memory that Tony could only guess at. "She started collecting people for a family she could call her own."

"And she gets angry when that family puts themselves in unnecessary danger," Sam said, wincing. "But I wasn't... Oh."

"Oh?" Tony asked.

"She's angry at you and Steve. I just got the tail end of it," Sam said with a brighter smile.

"Me?"

"She does seem to have taken to you," Laura said with a wink. "That's rare for her, in such a short time."

Natasha was angry at him because she cared? Tony blinked as he tried to process that. Howard had been angry all the time, but Tony had never gotten the impression he cared. Rhodey pretended to be angry sometimes, but Tony knew he secretly loved Tony's brand of trouble. His mother...

Tony pushed that thought aside.

But Natasha had only just met him. Why would she...

Sam was starting to develop an annoying habit of ruffling Tony's hair. Tony scowled up at him, because even if Sam was unfairly attractive, it didn't mean Tony was willing to let him mess with his hair. "Let's get going," Sam said, nodding to T'Challa. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner they'll be safe."

"You're taking the reassignment better," T'Challa said as Laura waved them off.

Huffing, Sam shook his head. "Natasha's probably right, if angry. 'Sides, I don't think this will end up a cake walk."

Tony looked at Laura and Clint one last time. She smiled at him, then nodded. "Go give Loki hell for taking my husband from me," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam said with a salute. "Let's go."

"This place is weird," Tony said as they walked, once again noting the really strange statues. Was that a fountain of goblins pis- Tony resolved not to think about it. Now that he wasn't running or hiding from the Chitauri, he wasn't sure he _wanted_ a proper look around.

"It grows on you," Sam said with a shrug. "The city is... well, most of the regular goblins live down here. They're a bit quirky and Steve keeps wanting them to renovate, but they like things as they are. It is a bit weirder than usual though."

"And you guys live in the castle?" Tony asked. That hadn't looked any better to be honest.

"It's seen better days," Sam said. "It was also returning to the old ways when I saw you in it, and there was a big fight there before everything went to hell."

At least it wasn't a goblin frat party.

Without the Chitauri, the city felt empty. Still, if he had lived in the city, he would have definitely high tailed it out at the first sign of those monsters. It was unnerving though, to have a city be this quiet. He wasn't used to it, and by the looks on Sam's and T'Challa's faces, it disquieted them as well.

They didn't go up the castle steps this time, instead taking a back route. Clint had to have known about it, Tony realized. So why had he taken... Of course. If Clint was 'fighting' the Chitauri, Tony would move faster to kill the King. The thought made him queasy. He hated being manipulated.

"You look troubled," T'Challa said.

"I hate that everything in this place is so twisty," Tony said, hating himself for not seeing it sooner. It was worse than one of his mother's parties, where people were only nice to you to your face.

T'Challa nodded. "My people study magic as well as science and logic, but this can be an unsettling place to those that rely only on the latter."

T'Challa seemed to be one of those people who were unsettled by the Labyrinth as well despite his words, and Tony was glad he wasn't the only one put off by this place.

Sam stopped suddenly as they were crossing into a long hallway, reaching out a hand. It looked like he was touching a wall, but Tony saw nothing there. Sam cursed. "I guess the road stops for me here. I got further as a falcon," he said, looking at his arm. "I can-"

"Natasha's point still stands," T'Challa said, not unkindly. "Transforming before left you feeling weak. I do not think it would be wise to do so again."

Sam sighed, then shook his head. "Clint owes me, that's all I'm saying."

"Sorry," Tony said, looking down. "If I'd been better at getting the arrow out-"

"Nah, kid, you did fine with that," Sam said. "But you didn't have to give in so easily with those jesses."

"He was going to kill you! I was going to set you free later when he wasn't looking!" Tony said angrily, then more sullenly, "And I'm not a kid."

Sam blinked, then grinned. "Then Natasha wouldn't have been so angry at me, huh? I'll have to trust you next time, okay?"

Tony nodded, not sure how he felt about the promise to trust him more. "If you hadn't gone, Natasha wouldn't have caught me when I was pushed out the window," he added.

"Yeah, don't repeat that experience," Sam said as T'Challa tested the invisible wall, his hand going through easily.

"The barrier will let me go further," T'Challa said, bringing their attention back to the mission.

"Then be careful," Sam said with a sigh. "I'll head back to Laura and Clint. If nothing else, I can give him hell for a bit."

Sam waved as he headed back out, and Tony swallowed as he toyed with the hem of that damned vest Loki had forced him into. "He won't..."

"Do something unwise?" T'Challa asked with a hint of a smile. "Sam is usually more level-headed, though I believe the falcon in him now is making him restless. Unless it's an emergency, he will probably stay out of the fight."

It was the emergency that worried Tony. Another reason to get through this quickly. "So how does the King of Wakanda find himself helping a goblin king?" Tony asked as he started picking his way through the mess that was this damned castle.

"I stepped through the looking glass," T'Challa said wryly, helping Tony over a fallen beam.

"Ha, funny," Tony said, shaking his head. He couldn't say he'd really pictured meeting a king before, but T'Challa was making him rethink his stance on them being boring.

T'Challa smiled, but it dimmed with his next words. "I was tracking down the man who murdered my father. Unfortunately, Hydra found me first."

"Hydra..." Tony couldn't help the shiver that went through his body. At least he didn't freak out this time, but Tony still felt pathetic that the name still scared him that much.

"In my anger, I was easy to manipulate. The mistake cost me dearly," T'Challa continued. "I nearly left my country without a king to rule it and another victim to Hydra. I escaped while Natasha was running an operation to infiltrate the base, and Director Carter offered me a method of contact when I requested means to keep a closer eye on Hydra."

"Oh," Tony said, awkwardly putting his hands in his pockets. He should be doing something, but how do you comfort a _king_? "I'm sorry." That wasn't right. He was screwing this up again. "I mean - I'm glad you got out or... It's not that way, no, so... I should stop talking."

T'Challa chuckled, shaking his head. "Reports led me to believe Starks had an inherent charm."

Tony blushed. Usually he _was_ much smoother than this, but none of that was with people who _mattered_. He had learned how to charm anyone into his bed, how to pretend to flirt his way through high society, and how to make people be more agreeable to his usually terrible ideas. He'd had to. But he hated it. It was exhausting.

"It's different here," Tony said finally. There was no one he met here who wanted or expected him to be like that. But plain old Tony was really bad at this sort of interaction. He was just grateful Rhodey never minded how badly Tony always screwed up. He'd even let Tony spend a full week at his dorm when Tony's had too much smoke damage after an attempt to cheer up Rhodey after a rough break-up had resulted in incinerating some cookies.

"This world makes reality and logic twist in on itself, yet it manages to find the truths we bury," T'Challa said as they came to a flight of stairs. Tony hesitated as T'Challa kept walking, remembering the last set of stairs he had climbed in this place. They hadn't been fun. But he had to keep up with the Wakandan king, and he scrambled to follow. "I have yet to decide if this is a good or a bad thing," he continued

"It's nice sometimes," Tony said, shocking himself. At T'Challa's raised eyebrow, Tony tried to explain, "I mean, science and logic are better, and it sucks that they don't work like they should here, but I don't... I don't like being the person Howard and Obie wanted me to be." He didn't know how else to act, but he knew he hated having to go home from MIT. Rhodey always got that pinched look when he started to act like that, and Pepper had looked very unimpressed the one time he tried it on her.

He tried not to think about that. He still hadn't quite lived down the shame.

"Then perhaps you are more suited for this place than the others believe," T'Challa said with a small smile.

Tony didn't know how to take that, so he nodded and followed up the steps. At least magic wasn't giving him vertigo or showing him random things like the last time. He was glad T'Challa was with him. Come to think of it, he'd been uneasy with Loki, but with T'Challa he knew... Loki had said everyone would betray him eventually and maybe that was true, but T'Challa seemed too honorable for that. None of the friends he'd made here would do that to him.

Maybe T'Challa _would_ be able to help him win this. Tony wasn't sure how he was supposed to save Steve at this rate, but T'Challa was a king as well and had been here before. He'd know how, right? T'Challa's lack of magic was promising and if....

"That wasn't there before," Tony said as they turned a sharp corner. "That's not fair."

"Life rarely is," T'Challa replied, though Tony could hear his own frustration. "I'll admit the unfairness doesn't usually involve mathematical surrealism."

"Turning this place into an Escher drawing was _not_ what I meant when I wanted logic and science," Tony said, looking out at the winding stairs that made less sense than the Winchester House. "How do we even _walk_ on some of those stairs?"

"We can only try," T'Challa said, looking as uneasy as Tony felt. He stepped forward cautiously onto the first stair. When nothing happened, he looked to Tony.

"Do you ever get used to this crazy?" Tony asked as he followed T'Challa's lead.

"You adjust," T'Challa replied.

"Not comforting," Tony said, shaking his head. He absolutely did not look down or think of the fact there were no rails. Who needed rails? He was in a ridiculous vest and a peasant shirt while trying to get through an M.C. Escher drawing with a Wakandan king. This was his life now.

He really hated his life sometimes.

Tony stumbled over a step and T'Challa caught his arm before he could fall. Because he needed more reason to embarrass himself more in front of the king. He was just about to curl into a ball of shame when the wall behind him exploded.

T'Challa pulled him down, shielding Tony from the debris. The king pulled the mask back over his face in a swift movement, then asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm-" Tony started to say, his eyes widening. "Look out!"

T'Challa turned just as the Chitauri poured out of the wall, guns aimed at the two of them. Tony's heart jumped into his throat. There was nowhere to run.

He flinched as the Chitauri opened fire, loud shots echoing through his ears. But instead of pain, nothing happened. Tony looked up to see T'Challa standing in front of him as energy bolts and what looked like normal bullets _bounced_ off his suit.

Though he was wearing a mask, Tony got the distinct impression that T'Challa was not impressed with the attack. After a few seconds, the Chitauri roared and rushed forward with some kind of pike.

T'Challa countered with a set of claws that came out of his finger tips. Vibranium, Tony thought dreamily as T'Challa sliced through the first monster. Wakanda was known for its vibranium. And that was the single coolest thing Tony had ever seen. Vibranium was _amazing_. What he wouldn't give for even a small sample to study or to pellet T'Challa with questions faster than those bullets. Oh, God, that suit had to be some kind of vibranium alloy and he had been touching it when T'Challa had shielded him.

Tony barely noticed when T'Challa drop kicked the last of the Chitauri, already thinking of ways that vibranium could be applied to, well, everything. He had heard of the properties before, but _seeing_ it in action -

"We need to keep moving," T'Challa said, bringing Tony out of his daze.

"That's vibranium!" Tony said, which hadn't been what he intended to say, but he still wasn't over it. "You have - of course you have. But that was amazing! What alloy are you using in the suit to mix with-"

T'Challa's low laugh startled him out of his torrent of words, and Tony blushed. Not the time, right. "Sorry, I just-"

"You are curious," T'Challa said. "It is a good quality to have. Perhaps later I can answer _some_ of your questions, but now we must hurry."

"Right," Tony said, starting to walk in hopes that it would keep his mouth from running. He heard the roar behind him and he picked up his pace. "This way?"

"It is as good a guess as mine," T'Challa replied as they walked through an arch.

Tony was pretty sure they were now on the other side of the room, even though they had only walked a few feet. He yelped as they ran face first into another Chitauri, this one with a glowing pike. T'Challa clawed at the monster, grabbing the pike before the creature fell off the stair. He threw the pike like a javelin at the second Chitauri that followed it, and it pierced the monster's heart. Tony swallowed, stepping over the body and trying not to look at what color the monster's blood was.

They ran from there on out, fear of falling overcome by the need to find the Goblin King before the Chitauri did. There was a stitch in Tony's side as T'Challa took out more monsters. The Chitauri seemed _endless_ , and if they had broken in then the others-

"This is not getting us closer to Steve," T'Challa said, looking at Tony after one of the monsters went down. "I don't like this."

"I have to go alone, don't I?" Tony asked, swallowing.

"We are running in circles and I will tire eventually," T'Challa admitted. "But I'm not leaving you to face them alone. There are too many for you to-"

His head snapped towards the roar, pulling Tony behind him as he faced the new threat.

They were surrounded, Tony realized. Chitauri stood on both the top of the stairs and the bottom, leaving the two of them standing on the edge of a platform. Tony looked down, seeing how far it was to the bottom.

It had to be over 100 feet. He wouldn't survive that jump and neither would T'Challa even with the vibranium suit, but something was telling him to jump. "If I weren't here, you could fight them off?" Tony asked, feeling oddly calm.

"What are you planning?" T'Challa asked, his voice sharper than Tony had heard it before.

"You can get out," Tony said, feeling more confident. It was Tony who was the burden here. T'Challa had fought the other Chitauri. He could get through these ones too. "Get to the others. I'll find the King, I promise."

"You-"

T'Challa turned just as Tony jumped off the ledge. He heard T'Challa shout his name, but time felt like it was slowing around Tony as he fell. Was this how Alice felt, falling down the rabbit hole? It looked like the world was fracturing apart as he fell, and there was no telling how long he was free falling. Tony closed his eyes and breathed, more relaxed than he felt he should be. If he was going to die, at least this wasn't such a bad way to go.

But he didn't hit the ground violently. Tony was startled when he... landed, for lack of a better word. His feet touched the ground and he almost felt weightless for a moment, before the feeling left him. He opened his eyes to see the universe above him, and surprisingly firm ground below him.

Tony almost forgot to breathe as he looked at the stars. Maybe he was already dead. Because he was pretty sure people weren't supposed to be able to see the whole universe like that. He felt small and insignificant, like nothing he could do would change a single thing.

"So, the prodigal son has returned."

Tony tore his gaze away from the stars to see Loki in full armor before him. He should have been afraid. He wasn't. The stars were terrifying; Loki seemed tame in comparison.

"You won't save this world," Loki said, moving closer. "You will fail, just like you failed your friends. If you kill the King, I'll overlook these transgressions and help you. It's the only way to save them."

"I'll find a different way," Tony said, shaking his head.

Loki laughed, a cruel sound that chilled Tony even through his calm. "You think a tiny, insignificant mortal like you can change the past? You are nothing without someone to protect you."

Flinching, Tony took a step back. It _was_ just like how he felt under the stars. The others weren't here and he couldn't even find the King. The one thing he could do, and he failed at that too.

"The others are dying even as we speak," Loki said, moving closer as a crystal ball appeared in his hands. "Would you like to hear their cries? I could show you. End this now, and I will spare their lives."

"You're lying," Tony said.

"I assure you your friends will _not_ survive the fight," Loki promised, a dark glint in his eyes.

"No, not that," Tony said, trying not to think about how the others were fighting and possibly losing. Natasha, Hulk, T'Challa, Sam, Thor, and even Clint and Laura could die at any second because he was too slow. But he couldn't afford to slip up now. "You won't spare them. You won't save them. You said everyone betrays you in the end. You were never going to help me save any of my friends."

Loki tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "They will betray you as well, or are you forgetting who sold you to Hydra? Are they still worth saving?"

Swallowing, Tony took a deep breath. "Maybe," he said bleakly. Obie... He had trusted Obie. His parents had trusted Obadiah. And nothing was going to change that. Obie had wanted to have him _murdered_ , and probably had done the same to Howard. And his mother was the one caught in the crossfire. And that _hurt_. It hurt so much that he could barely breathe.

"Then don't let them," Loki urged, taking a step closer. "Take care of them first. Get the first punch."

"No," Tony said, shuddering violently. "No, I'm not going to - they're not all like that." Because maybe they _would_ betray him, but they weren't like Obie. Rhodey was so much _better_ than Tony in every way, and Natasha and the others, if they... Maybe they would, but at least it might be because it's the right thing to do.

"I'm not going to betray them first," Tony said confidently.

"Then you will die with the rest of them," Loki growled, lowering the staff as he pointed it at Tony. "And if I can't have this world, there's no dying king that will save _yours_."

Tony stared at the staff, strangely at peace again. Sure, he didn't want to die, but Loki wasn't going to win. "You can't take the city," he said. "What makes you think you can take my world? They'll stop you. I'm just a normal kid, but you can't even conquer me. You have no power over me."

"I have an army," Loki snarled.

"We have a Hulk," Tony replied.

To Tony's great surprise, there was a very loud, very familiar roar behind him just after he said the words. "Hulk?" he said, turning to look as Hulk appeared in a shimmering light. "I... wasn't expecting that," Tony said, but for once the crazy of this world was acting in his favor instead of against him.

"Enough! You are - all of you are beneath me!" Loki said, but Tony could see the fear in his eyes as he looked at Hulk. "I am a _god_ , you dull creature!"

"Hey, Hulk," Tony said with a grin. "Smash this guy, would ya?"

Hulk didn't reply. He roared again as Loki shot at him, reaching down to grab Loki's foot. Then he started to throw Loki around like a rag doll. It was strangely satisfying to watch after all Loki had put him through.

But why had Hulk appeared? Tony had said his name, but... Tony turned away when he realized Loki wasn't actually getting too hurt by Hulk, and he closed his eyes. This place might be crazy, but that didn't mean he couldn't test his hypothesis.

"Natasha?" he called out hesitantly, wincing at the crash behind him as he saw Loki get thrown into the wall out of the corner of his eye. Forgetting his experiment, Tony looked back to the fight. "I should tell Hulk to stop..."

"Nah, this is oddly therapeutic considering how many times he's tried to kill us in the past. Besides, he's Asgardian. It won't hurt him... much."

"Natasha!" Tony turned back to see the small fairy, who closed her eyes, slowly growing as the shimmering red wings shrunk. Soon she was just a little shorter than him, wearing what would pass as street clothes in his world, jeans and a black shirt, covered by a fashionable brown jacket and topped off with a red hourglass belt that hung on her hips. The only way he could tell she wasn't a normal human was the slightly pointed ears and the subtly ethereal eyes. "How-"

"It's this place," Natasha said, stepping forward to get a better view of Loki getting royally thrashed. "We're at the heart of the Labyrinth, where all the magic gathers. I don't think even Steve has gotten this far, but I can break Loki's spell on me here. The magic must have reacted to you calling us."

So this must be what she normally looks like. Tony found himself missing the bright gossamer wings. "I'm... about before, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

Natasha sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry too, for snapping at you," she said, then glared. "But don't scare me like that again. I don't..."

"Can I, uh..." Tony made a hand wavy movement that Natasha was both unimpressed with and uncomprehending of. He blushed a little as he stammered out the word: "Hug?"

Natasha looked startled, but she nodded. Okay then. Hugs. They weren't that hard, right? He'd even hugged Natasha before, so this wouldn't be hard. Except when he stepped forward, he felt even more awkward. He started to reach out then hesitated, because what if he was doing it wrong? Sure, Rhodey pulled him into hugs all the time, but Tony wasn't sure how to _start_ one, not a _proper_ one anyway, and-

Natasha took pity on him, slipping her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer. From there, Tony knew what to do. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair as he hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry," he said again, because he wasn't sure what he'd been thinking when he took that robot out, and after all the fighting, he might never have seen Natasha again. "I'm sorry."

"Shh," Natasha said, hugging him tighter. "I'm sorry too. Just don't _leave_."

"I won't," Tony promised, not knowing if he could keep that promise, but he was going to try.

They both winced as there was a loud _crack_. Tony turned away to look, only to see Loki lying dazed on the ground in a little body-shaped crater while Hulk looked on. "Puny god," Hulk spat out.

"Hulk smash," Tony said, unable to help a giggle in relief.

He felt Natasha hug him tighter. "He's good at that," she said, leaning up to kiss Tony's cheek. His cheeks burned, but he smiled as she pulled away. "Hey, Hulk. Can you guard Loki for a bit?"

Hulk grunted in reply, sitting down cross-legged and glaring at Loki.

"Should I call one of the others?" Tony asked, unsure if that was wise now that Hulk had finished smashing.

Natasha shook her head. "The army is still out there. With me and Hulk here, we shouldn't call anyone else."

"Okay then, how do we find the King?" Tony asked.

"Whatever we do, we need to do it fast. The fact that we're here now means his power is fracturing," Natasha said. Then she shrugged. "Try calling him here?"

Sometimes, and only sometimes, magic made a distressing amount of sense. "Okay. Hey, Goblin King! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

It was only mildly disappointing when nothing happened. "That didn't work," Tony said, running a hand through his hair.

"His name," Natasha said, shaking her head. "Call his real name."

Tony opened his mouth, but hesitated. The others talked about this King all the time, but Tony had only ever called his mysterious dance partner 'Ozzy'. He had never used the King's real name to his face.

"Steve," he said softly, a tentativeness creeping into his voice that he tried to hide.

There was a shimmer of golden light and the bed from before appeared with the masked man on it. Tony could remember now, the dancing and the kiss. The owl who had protected him. The sad, but kind blue eyes that looked at him like he was something precious.

Natasha tried to move forward, but an invisible wall like the one that had stopped Sam kept her from moving forward. She sighed. "Alright, human. Work your magic."

"I _science_ ," Tony insisted, but he walked past the barrier without a problem. "What do I do?"

"You could try kissing him?" Natasha said with a smirk.

Tony flushed, remembering the first kiss. Then he remembered how Ozzy... Steve had turned him down, and he sighed. "Is there anything _else_ I can do?" he asked bitterly, reaching out to the mask and tracing his fingers along the white lines of the grotesque nose. Steve looked so pale under it.

Natasha stilled completely, and Tony immediately withdrew his hand. The last time he had touched it, there had been that bright light... "No," she said. "You were on the right track. Try taking it off."

Swallowing, he nodded, then reached for the mask. Carefully, he lifted it from Steve's face. There was another bright flash of light, and Tony fell into an engulfing darkness.


	6. Chapter Six

He groaned as he came to, the hand that had been running through his hair freezing mid-stroke. "Is he waking up?" a guilty-sounding voice asked. It was familiar, but Tony couldn't quite place it.

"Getting there." _Natasha_. The hand in his hair continued to pet him, and Tony sighed, snuggling further into Natasha's fingers. "Don't think this means I'm not going to kick your ass for that stunt."

Tony let out a soft whine, wondering what he'd done this time. Except Natasha's fingers were brushing over his cheek tenderly, and the man's voice sounded sulkier. "People in the city were getting hurt."

"We were fighting them off," Natasha growled.

"You guys were getting-" the man stopped, muttering under his breath some very impolite words. Natasha wasn't angry at him, Tony realized. He relaxed against her. Was his head in her lap? Either way she was petting him and it was nice. That was all that mattered.

"The army is retreating," Natasha said, her voice cold. Tony could only imagine the glare that had cut off the earlier conversation. "Thor is very enthusiastic at beating them back, and breaking the spell freed Wanda from the doors. And look at that, all without you nearly killing yourself to make a force field!"

"She makes a very good point, Steve," T'Challa said, somewhere to the right. "Everyone has rallied, and the fight was easily won. Even before the spell was broken, we could have handled it."

"The fighting's done then?" Ozzy - no, _Steve_ \- asked, relief in his tone. "I should have been out there."

"You can barely walk because you tried killing yourself to make a barrier around the city," Natasha said, just a touch too cheerfully. But Tony was barely processing her words. The Goblin King, he was-

Tony tried to push himself up, rubbing his eyes as he felt Natasha support him. "You're..." Tony said, finally opening his eyes.

He saw a remarkably familiar face, but he couldn't decide where he'd seen it before. The man looked at Natasha and T'Challa, neither of which gave him any of the help he was obviously seeking. Finally, he sighed, kneeling down next to where Tony and Natasha were sitting, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Hi," he said.

"Your majesty?" Tony tried, the words sticking in his throat. With T'Challa, the phrase had been easy. T'Challa had a certain innate regal-ness that made Tony hesitate using his real name despite the invitation, if only because Tony himself was nowhere near T'Challa's league. This guy though, he looked more awkward than anything, certainly not at home with the small crown on his head that didn't quite tame his spikey hair.

He confirmed Tony's feeling by wincing. "Steve," he said firmly. "I'm not really... it's more of a democracy since I took over. It's just a title."

Natasha snorted, and Tony got the feeling 'democracy' was something she usually had a lot to say on. She didn't interrupt though, and both she and T'Challa were watching him curiously.

"Because this place never made much sense to begin with," Tony muttered. A king who preferred democracy made just about as much sense as the rest of this place. Vaguely, he recognized they were back in one of the castle's rooms. The same one he had seen Steve sleeping in the first time with Loki.

He could think about weird castles, strange kings, and their ridiculously handsome faces later. "Rhodey and Pepper-"

"We can try to help them," Steve said. "I can't... I'm sorry. Loki attacked when your parents were killed, and it's too late to rewind time to save them. But your two friends, we should be able to make it in time."

Steve turned to look at T'Challa, and Tony released his breath. He couldn't decide if he were relieved or disappointed that Steve was no longer looking at him. "It would rewind some of your time too. Do you mind?" Steve asked.

"There was nothing that could not be repeated," T'Challa said. "Or I could stay here a while if the army rallies."

Steve smiled gratefully. "No, we seem to have things under control here. Thank you for your help, T'Challa."

Steve turned back to Tony, and Tony wondered if his mixed feelings stemmed from the fact that this guy had watched over him for so long. And despite how forward Steve had been earlier, now he kept a polite distance, not only with his body but with his eyes.

Rubbing the back of his hand absently, Tony tried not to think about the kiss that had been pressed there. "This world will be okay?" Tony asked.

"It's sorting itself out now," Steve replied.

"So I can go back? Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Oh." It felt... Tony didn't know how to feel about that, not when he had gone through so much to get here. It felt like he was being discarded, and he hated that feeling. It felt too much like his father brushing him aside.

"Okay, then, I'll-" Tony started to say.

He was cut off by an angry roar. Everyone looked up to see Hulk glaring at Loki, who had his hands up in surrender, a frightening-looking muzzle secured over his mouth. "You should not try to escape, brother," a voice said.

"Thor!" Tony said, turning to see....

That was _not_ a large talking squirrel. Tony's jaw dropped open at the biceps that were on full display and wow, those were definitely divine. Definitely the God of Thunder.

"The army gone?" Steve asked.

"Yes," a stunningly beautiful woman with long hair said. She wore a red jacket and several rings and bracelets, but Tony was distracted by how her eyes flashed red. They were wounded in a way that Tony was starting to recognize as grief. "They won't bother this world any longer."

"Wanda," Natasha said, stepping forward. And _that_ was why she looked familiar. She'd been the one on the door. "Are you-"

"I'm fine," she said, with a thick accent. Tony couldn't quite place it aside from Eastern European. She closed her eyes, and Tony wondered about who the man on the other door had been. "Though I would not mind an hour alone guarding the prisoner."

From the way Loki winced, Tony assumed that was meant for him. And Wanda seemed very willing to follow through on the threat implicit in her eyes when she opened them.

"You'll have to get in line, rookie." Clint walked up, with his arm around Laura, and... damn. Tony was starting to feel extremely inadequate. Now that Clint was no longer a dwarf, he was _also_ incredibly handsome. Did everyone here walk around with no sleeves to show off their amazingly ripped biceps? How did anyone get anything done with that sort of distraction?

Case in point, Sam leaning against the doorway with his barely-there sleeves. "It's gonna be a long line at this point."

"Is everyone here this beautiful?" Tony asked without quite meaning to.

"Well, there's Hulk over there," Natasha said, with a grin. "He's not exactly - Bruce!"

As they spoke, Hulk started... shrinking. And turning less green. In fact, he was becoming decidedly more _handsome_ , and he shot Natasha a betrayed glance.

The man swayed in place, and the only reason he didn't fall to the ground was T'Challa's quick thinking. Looping an arm around his shoulders, T'Challa steadied the man who used to be Hulk. Tony realized everyone else was as shocked as he was.

"Sorry if I scared you," the man said, his hair tousled and his voice meek as he clutched at the remains of his pants.

"We needed something a little scary," Natasha replied. "We were wondering where you were."

"Right here as a green rage monster," the man said with a wince. "Has anyone seen my glasses?"

"It's like the whole group of us is back together again," Sam said with a wide smile. "All except Peg-"

He cut off, looking to Steve, the other man looking at the floor. Then Sam shook his head and sighed. "It's nice being together again, at any rate. And being normal instead of magicked up."

Together. Except Tony was leaving. The stark reminder that he wasn't quite part of their group was painful, but he pushed it away and forced a smile on his face. "Guess that means it's time for me to leave."

Now with everyone staring at him, Tony forced back the hurt and tried to look bored. "So what do I do? Click my heels together and say there's no place like home?"

"Hey, a reference Steve would get," Sam said with a laugh. He came over and pulled a surprised Tony into a one-armed hug as he ruffled his hair. "Leaving us so soon, kid?"

Tony scowled until the hand left his hair, getting more annoyed the more innocent Sam looked. "I have to help my friends," Tony said.

"And the window to do so is closing," Steve said, shaking his head. "If you guys could take Loki to some place more secure?"

"That means he wants us gone," Sam said, hugging Tony a little tighter. "Take it easy on Steve," he said softly, so that only Tony could hear. "'Cause the rest of us have to deal with him when he's sulking."

"Fine," Tony snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He'd do it for Sam, if just because the hug felt nice.

Clint stepped up after a small push from Laura as Sam pulled away. "About what I did-"

"It was mind control, right?" Tony said, more at peace with the thought than he felt he should be. But Clint hadn't actually hurt him, and he'd gotten his memories back eventually.

Clint looked away. "I'm sorry. I should have-"

"Mind control," Tony repeated, catching the relief and approval in Natasha's eyes. "You didn't do that much to me."

"It was enough," Clint said, his expression dark. "I-"

"It's okay," Tony said, because it was.

"Go on," Natasha said, hugging Clint from behind. "We'll talk later."

Clint sighed, leaning back into the embrace as he closed his eyes. Natasha and Clint were obviously close, and Tony wondered what Clint was like without the mind control. He wondered if he'd ever get to know the real Clint.

"Good luck with your friends," Laura said, pulling Clint towards her as Natasha let him go. "And no more stunts like that last one."

"Yes, ma'am," Tony said, glad that Clint would be taken care of, at least.

"You will become a fine warrior," not-squirrel Thor said, clasping Tony's shoulder and stealing his attention. Those biceps were _huge_. "You have the heart for it," Thor said approvingly.

"Uh, thanks, I think?" Tony said, tearing his eyes away to see the half-naked man who had been Hulk walk up beside them.

"It's a bit overwhelming sometimes, isn't it?" the man said, offering the hand not holding up his pants to Tony. "Bruce Banner. Thank you for trusting the other guy. He... wasn't happy being tied up."

Tony had been reaching out to shake his hand when his eyes went wide. "Bruce Banner? _Dr._ Bruce Banner? Who disappeared while doing research on gamma waves? I've read your paper on anti-electron collisions - it was amazing!"

Dr. Banner looked surprised, then shy. He ran a hand through his already mussed hair, then reached for glasses that weren't there. "Here is where I disappeared to," Dr. Banner said.

Tony had millions of things he wanted to ask about, almost none of them about how this mild-mannered scientist had come to the Labyrinth and become a giant green rage monster, though he'd admit that was interesting and he was curious about that too. Science first though. "So you-"

" _Bruce_ ," Steve said in a firm tone.

Bruce smiled wryly. "Maybe we can talk when Steve isn't feeling quite so jealous," he said with a small wave, following Thor, Sam, Clint, and Laura out as they marched the prisoner out of the bedroom. Wanda, if Tony was remembering her name right, also waved and smiled at him as she left. With most of the pretty people gone, Tony could breathe a mental sigh of relief. He wasn't used to feeling so out-classed.

Only Natasha, T'Challa, and Steve remained, with T'Challa looking between Natasha and Steve in amusement. Natasha looked defiantly at Steve, as if there was some argument going on that Tony had missed.

"Natasha, you'll be too conspicuous," Steve said. "The time line is fixed to a point. If you show up-"

"They won't see me," Natasha said. Tony's heart skipped when he realized she was talking about going with him.

"I would prefer to go as well, but I think it might spook our target," T'Challa said, shaking his head. "I have the feeling this won't go well."

Steve sighed. "It's going to be dangerous either way," he said. "I'm not sure I can send you both."

"I'll go then," Natasha said. "I can stay hidden. Steve, this isn't a discussion."

"Natasha-"

Tony blinked, then rubbed his eyes as Natasha grew smaller, gossamer wings elegantly fluttering behind her back. Judging by the surprise on both kings' faces, they hadn't expected that. "You're still a fairy?" Tony asked. "I thought you weren't actually a fairy?"

Natasha shrugged. "Bruce and I were at the heart of the spell when it was broken. I'm not sure how it will work with him since he stayed as Hulk for so long after, but for me, I can change back at will."

"Alright," Steve said, looking to Tony. "I can't put you much before the alarm at SI. I'm cutting it close as it is."

Which meant that Tony had to protect Pepper from whatever bomb went off. One of the Stark Industry weapons. He nodded grimly. He could do this.

Steve started to say something, then stopped. He looked down, then scowled at Natasha as she elbowed him in the ribs. "We can give you some privacy?" T'Challa said.

"There isn't time," Steve snapped, then he took a deep breath. "Sorry, T'Challa. I didn't mean to be cross."

"No, you're just cranky when you sulk," Natasha said.

She looked at Tony with an unspoken question, and he considered it. Should he let them leave him with a creepy stalkerish guy who seemed willing to discard him now that he was no longer needed? The answer to that should have been no. That's what Rhodey would have told him to say. But Tony found himself _angry_ , and he was never the most rational when he was angry. He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and wondering if there was any way he could change out of this damned vest and peasant shirt.

T'Challa watched the exchange with a small smile, then turned back to Steve. "Then you should be quick and say only what you mean," T'Challa said pointedly as he and Natasha moved just outside the bedroom door.

Steve rubbed his forehead with his palm, then shook his head, muttering something under his breath. Tony couldn't be sure, but it sounded a lot like bemoaning friends who meddle too much.

If Tony wasn't so angry, he could relate.

"Thank you," Steve said, finally looking at Tony. "For saving everyone. For saving me."

Because that was so hard to say, apparently.

"Whatever," Tony said with a shrug. "Just send me home. It's obvious you don't want me here now."

"What?" Steve had looked crestfallen at Tony's anger, but now he seemed confused. "I don't - what gave you that idea?"

"I don't know," Tony said, his voice dripping acid. "Maybe the fact that before you couldn't stop throwing yourself at me, but now that I've done what you wanted, you won't come near me. Plus the fact you seem to want to send me back as fast as possible. I get it. You don't need me anymore."

Maybe Loki had been right about betrayal.

Steve's eyes went wide, and he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," Steve said, looking down. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. But I'm... I've never been good at this."

"At what?" Tony asked, wondering where this was going.

Steve gestured between them, and Tony blinked back uncomprehendingly. Then Steve sighed and closed his eyes. "At... talking. To people that I like."

Tony felt his heart skip a few beats, and he frowned, crushing that hope as hard as he could. "You seemed fine talking to the others."

This time, Tony could definitely make out a few curses under Steve's breath. "That's not... You know what I mean."

"No, I don't," Tony said, his shoulders hunching. He wanted it to be just that, but too many things didn't add up. "Point still stands. You didn't have this problem _before_."

"I was forced into a magical sleep," Steve said dryly. "Inhibitions don't always work when you're only half-conscious. I shouldn't have - Sorry. I took advantage of you more than I should have because of it."

Tony swallowed and turned away, rubbing the back of the hand Steve had kissed in the dark. "I get it," Tony said curtly. "You wouldn't have done any of those things if you had been thinking straight."

This time Steve swore aloud. "That's not what I-"

He reached out to Tony's arm, gentle pressure asking Tony to turn back around. Tony jumped at the touch, not expecting it, and Steve cut off as he did.

Tony's heart pounded as Steve walked around him, but Steve wasn't trying to meet his eyes. Instead, the king was staring at the hand Tony held against his chest, because Tony had forgotten to put it down. Tony flushed, hoping it wasn't obvious what he'd been thinking about. He pushed his hand down and did not think about those lips on his skin. "Look, just let me go home or-"

"May I kiss you?" Steve interrupted.

"What?" Tony was so lost about where this conversation was going. Someone had forgotten to send him a memo, because he didn't know how they jumped from arguing to this.

"May I kiss you?" Steve repeated, looking down at his feet with a blush. "I know you - I'm not good at talking about this kind of thing, so I figured actions... And it's creepy, the fact that I watched over you, but Peggy asked and Hydra was after you. I didn't look when you needed privacy, but still. And I shouldn't have taken advantage when you were scared in the dark, or when you didn't have your memories, but I-"

"Why are you still _talking_?" Tony asked, grabbing the ridiculously low cut poofy shirt and yanking Steve down so that he could stop the idiot mid-ramble.

Action was so much better than words.

Tony had barely started the kiss when Steve's hand was on his cheek, caressing his cheekbone and keeping him from pulling away. The other hand rested on his hip, the grip just on this side of tight as Tony found a much better use for Steve's tongue by teasing it into his mouth. He smirked at the small noise Steve made, pretty sure that Goblin Kings lost credibility when making sounds like that.

Tony sighed as Steve pulled away but not too far. Steve's forehead touched his as Tony regained his breath. Before Tony could start the kiss up again though, Steve pulled away properly.

"Understand now?" Steve asked.

"Actually, no. I still need some clarification," Tony said, leaning in again.

But Steve moved back, keeping the distance between them. "Can I see you again?" Steve asked, a hint of awkward shyness in his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes?" Tony said. He wasn't entirely sure how dating a Goblin King was going to work, but logic had split from his life the moment he stepped into this place.

Steve smiled, and Tony couldn't breathe, much less remember logic. Not like when Hydra had tried drowning him, but more like he'd forgotten breathing was necessary. This wasn't just a fling, Tony realized faintly. A smile like that could be _dangerous_ and oh, God, he was in too deep for not having known the guy even existed thirteen hours ago and-

"Good job, kitten," Natasha said smugly. "I knew you'd make me proud."

Tony was torn out of his panic to wonder if she was being _his_ wingman or Steve's. He really didn't want to know.

Steve coughed, a blush creeping up his neck. "I need to send you back now. Just..." Steve bit his lip and Tony did _not_ follow the movement with his eyes. "I can't send you that far back before Pepper was hurt. Be careful."

Tony nodded, mood effectively killed when he remembered what he was going back to. He raised his chin. Pepper wasn't going to get hurt this time.

He started as Natasha's hand slipped into his, then he squeezed it back in thanks. Both Pepper and Rhodey were going to be safe. They would make sure of it.

"Okay," he said, as T'Challa stepped closer as well. 

"Good luck," T'Challa said. "The magic will put me back in Wakanda, but I will make my way to you as fast as I can."

Tony was going to be visited by a _king_. "I - uh, thanks," Tony said, wondering how he was going to explain the fact that he was now friends with the King of Wakanda. Or that he was kind of dating a Goblin King.

"Ready?" Steve asked.

Tony took a deep breath. It was now or never. "There's no place like home. Do I need to click my heels?"

Steve looked delighted, as Sam predicted. Natasha groaned as T'Challa chuckled, and Tony felt like he was missing something as Steve said "I got that reference."

"So, uh," he started to say, then stopped as Steve leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Tony's now burning cheek. "Be careful," he repeated as a clock started to sound and Tony felt the ground give out under him. He yelped in surprise.

The world spun out of control. In the chaos, he lost Natasha's hand. As he tried to get his bearings, he saw... the white owl? It was flying by as he stared after it, and suddenly, he felt calm and serene.

As he focused on the owl, the world around him came into focus. He was at Stark Industries with Obie and-

 _Pepper_.

She was alive and texting on her phone, smiling pleasantly to hide the way her hands shook. She was alive and he couldn't distract her by hugging her. He couldn't tip Obie off either, and fuck, where was Natasha? Had that all been a dream?

The elevator dinged as the door opened, and Tony hesitated as Pepper and Obie stepped through.

He banged against the wall as the bomb shook the building. Obie pulled him out of the elevator, and Tony stumbled into Pepper, who dropped her phone again. The sound of it hitting the floor was lost to the sirens, but instead of plugging his ears, Tony tried to duck down and grab it.

"Get to the stairs," Obie said, grabbing his arm before he could and pushing them both towards the emergency exit.

"Her phone-" Tony said, panicking. That was why they killed Pepper! They found out she knew!

He turned back to see Natasha in her brown jacket, leaning down to pick it up. She glanced at the message, then at Obie, before nodding to Tony.

It wasn't just a dream.

"Jesus, boy, leave it," Obie said as Tony let him herd them out of there. "Pepper, get him out of here. I'll get the rest of the people out."

"No, we should-" Tony said, knowing he had to change the events.

"Understood," Pepper replied, taking his arm. "We have to get help," she mouthed.

He caught Natasha's eye desperately, and she nodded. He let Pepper lead him to the crowded stairs, and it was all Tony could do to remember to breathe with that many people moving around him. He lost track of Natasha, and the stairway was even more terrifying the second time around.

His knees nearly buckled as someone pushed at his shoulders. Pepper caught him before he fell, and he managed to help her keep her balance as the next stair tripped her. After a moment, she pulled him close. The smell of her perfume woke him up enough to take the next step, blocking everyone else out and focusing on her.

The screaming made him sick as the building rocked again. They were hurting - _killing_ people just to take him out and make SI into an arms dealer.

This was ending now.

The cold air outside steeled him, and he pulled Pepper out of the flow of people. Her eyes were wide and her hair was out of place, and he _loved_ her in that moment as if none of the Labyrinth had ever happened. She wasn't his and that _hurt_ , but that didn't matter. She wouldn't die because of him, not this time around. Anything, as long as she was happy.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they moved away from the crowds. He didn't see Natasha anywhere, but they couldn't let the others be hurt if there was going to be a fight.

"Yeah, just shaken," she said, looking up at the building.

Tony didn't follow her gaze, knowing about the fire. Instead, he reached for his shoulder and pulled off the tracking device, throwing it to the ground before crushing it beneath his heel. He'd forgotten about that.

"Tony, what was-" Pepper started.

The hood came down over his head as Pepper screamed. Panic seized him for a moment, but then he kicked back and heard a rough voice swear. His arms were yanked back as he tried to struggle, but he was no Natasha. "Pepper, _run_ ," he said, twisting as his arm was raised.

"Shit," another voice said as the thing on his head was pulled off. Pepper grabbed his arm and took off running in her high heeled shoes, her Taser in hand.

"I know you have a boyfriend and I hope you're happy with him, but I want you to know that I love you so much," Tony said around a gasp for breath. He felt heady, not from the lack of air, but from admitting it.

Pepper laughed, the sound ringing with panic, and it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. She didn't believe him, not seriously, but he had told her. That was what mattered.

He could hear the men shouting after them, and the foretelling click. There was no time, no Natasha. Momentum wouldn't pull her back fast enough so he put on a burst of speed. He was the first around the corner, and he felt the impact in his chest.

His ears rang at the sound, and he saw Pepper's kind eyes go wide in shock, disbelief, and _grief_. He smiled at her as the pain made its way through his chest. He didn't know what she was saying, but he closed his eyes as the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

He'd kept her safe the best he could. That was all that mattered.

* * *

A steady beep woke Tony up. That and the dull ache in his chest that sat heavy between his shoulders. He felt like it should be difficult to breathe with that much weight, but Tony didn’t have too much trouble. 

In fact, he was surprisingly comfortable, if you discounted the annoying beep. There were voices, soft and warm. Friends. Rhodey and Pepper. And… T’Challa?

All of that had been real then. Not only did life make no sense now, but Pepper had a boyfriend and Tony had apparently agreed to go on a date with a Goblin King and _how was this his life?_. 

He wondered if he could get used to the crazy. That might not be so bad, in the long run, and he had promised to make a better giant robot. Or maybe a smaller robot, more like a suit? Something with more maneuverability and-

Tony groaned. Why were his thoughts so _slow_? He should have half the plans already written in his head by now.

"He appears to be awake," T'Challa said.

Immediately a pressure on his hand increased. "Tony?" he heard Rhodey say. "Hey, you in there, buttercup?"

Tony wanted to say something like "For you? Always, sugar pie." What came out was another groan as he struggled to open his eyes, realizing he was probably drugged and drugged well.

Rhodey was leaning over him, big brown eyes wide with relief as his hand tightened around Tony's almost painfully. "You are supposed to call me when you get in trouble," he said, but his grin took away the reprimand.

Tony smiled. He felt exhausted and the weight on his chest kept him from sitting up and leaning into a hug, but Rhodey was here. His Rhodey. Not hurt or tortured. Safe. His throat closed, and he couldn't force out any words.

"You gave us a scare," Pepper said, and he turned to look at her. Alive. She was alive. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, but there was expertly applied make up to hide most of the signs and her hair was perfectly in place. There were tears cluttering the corners of her eyes, and Tony's throat finally decided to work. "Tears for your new boss, Ms. Potts?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting," she replied.

He had Rhodey and Pepper. Even if the world flipped and there were talking squirrels and creepy hands in walls and Goblin Kings, they were here. Tony felt like he could take on all of that again just to be here. He leaned against Rhodey's shoulder when his friend tried to help him sit up.

The weight on his chest drew his focus away from his friends, and he winced.

"Take it easy," T'Challa said. Tony looked up to see him leaning against the wall in full costume, but with the cowl pulled down. Still unfairly handsome, but Tony was glad to see him here. At least that hadn't been a dream.

"You took some shrapnel to the chest during the attack," T'Challa continued. "Dr. Cho and Dr. Yinsen were able to make an electromagnet to keep it from damaging your heart, but the power supply is still... unwieldy."

Tony swallowed, then looked down at his chest. Bandages were in the way, but he could feel the unfamiliar metal that rested underneath it. There were also wires sneaking under the bandages, and Tony didn't follow to where they led. He felt the blood drain from his face as he tried to tug at the bandages.

Rhodey pushed his hands away and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "You gonna tell me when you made friends with a _king_ , by the way?"

"Ya know, around," Tony said, which wasn't his best excuse, if the way Rhodey's eyes narrowed and Pepper's confusion were anything to go by, but he was on painkillers. Good thing he didn't mention he was apparently going on a date with a second king.

T'Challa was no help at all, pushing off the wall with his lips in a straight line that didn't quite hide the humor in his voice. "I will let the others know you have woken up and ask Dr. Yinsen to check in," he said, nodding to the corner where Tony didn't see anyone, then leaving.

"No, seriously, Tony. The King of _Wakanda_ ," Rhodey said.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Tony said, waving it off.

"Try us," Pepper said, her voice stronger now that she had controlled her tears.

They were going to think he was crazy. Hell, he was pretty sure he was crazy. "You remember that card, with the SHIELD contact information?" he asked hesitantly.

Rhodey nodded, but it was Pepper who spoke. "Card?"

"Yeah, the one I gave you to call Director Carter with?"

Pepper stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry, I don't remember. I got a concussion in the attack, and that whole day is a bit blurry."

Tony went pale and stock still. It took him a moment to remember to breathe. "Then they don't know who did it," he said.

"No," Rhodey said, looking concerned. "SHIELD is pretty sure someone wants you dead, and I think they've got one suspect they haven't told us about, which is why King T'Challa was here, since he apparently helps SHIELD on the side. But they've kept a constant watch since-"

"How long have I been out?" Tony demanded, trying to think if he'd told Natasha or the others anything specific. He hadn't, he realized. Natasha had asked, but he'd frozen. He'd reacted to _Hydra_ , but Loki had known about Pierce, so the others would too, right?

"Hey, Tones, calm down," Rhodey said. "You're scaring me here. Breathe."

"How long?" Tony asked again.

"Two weeks," a third voice said.

Tony's head spun around to see Alexander Pierce standing in the doorway with a friendly, open smile on his face. Tony couldn't breathe. This was the man who ran _Hydra_. How was he here? And where were the doctors T'Challa was getting?

"Mr. Pierce, it's good of you to stop by," Pepper said, smiling at the newcomer. "Tony, he's been one of the people helping protect you with SHIELD."

Well, fuck.

That explained a few things. T'Challa had mentioned a mole who had been making things difficult for SHIELD.

"Tony?"

Why wasn't Pierce trying to recapture - no, the torture never happened in this timeline. Natasha had taken the cell phone and probably Pepper's clipboard to keep them safe, but that only implicated Obie, unless Pepper had gotten Pierce's name in the text. Which if they just had one suspect, she probably hadn't. And Pepper couldn't remember, so there was nothing to implicate him. Tony had never been taken by Hydra, and neither had Rhodey. Pierce had no idea Tony _knew_. Unless he gave it away with his horrified expression, which, go Tony Stark for gaping like an idiot.

Tony forced his mouth shut as Pepper stood. "What's taking Dr. Yinsen so long? I'll-"

"I'm okay," Tony said hastily, pulling on her sleeve to keep her in place. Pierce was in the doorway, and he wasn't letting Pepper near him.

Pierce frowned, but didn't move from his spot. "It's good to see you awake at last," the man said, his voice causing small shivers to run down Tony's spine. "I was a friend of your father's."

 _You had him and Mom **murdered**_ , Tony thought. He looked down since the burning anger in his eyes would definitely have given him away.

Rhodey took in Tony's odd behavior, glanced up at Pierce with a blank stare, then back to Tony. "Mr. Pierce, maybe you should come back later. Tony seems tired right now," he said, angling his shoulders slightly to try to cut Tony out of Pierce's view.

Pierce shifted, frowning at them as he tilted his head. Tony saw him reach into his pocket as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, not when your friend there has the misfortune to have recognized me."

Tony tensed, but didn't have time to react as Rhodey pushed him down and Pepper screamed. There was the sound of a gunshot, and Rhodey collapsed on top of him, his face a picture of pain.

"Rhodey!" Tony shouted as a flash of red flew by. There were other men filing in, but Tony only barely registered the screams of pain as Natasha leaped into action, now full sized. "Rhodey! _Rhodey!_ "

"Black Widow," Pierce said as Rhodey groaned in Tony's arms. Tony looked up to see the goons were down and Pierce with a head wound pointing a gun at Tony's head. "I think it's time you stand down."

Natasha was in a skin-tight black suit, poised to strike as her eyes glanced at Tony. "You're a traitor," she said, but there was no anger in her voice. She sounded calm, but Tony could see the small tremors of fury in her hand.

Tony hugged Rhodey against him, his heart pounding. He was helpless again, and now Natasha couldn't do anything either, and Rhodey was-

Pierce screamed as lightning hit his chest. For a moment, Tony thought it must be Thor, but he followed the line back to Pepper, beautiful, gorgeous, brilliant _Pepper_ , holding her Taser with a grim look on her face as Pierce fell to the floor. Natasha finished the job with a quick jab to knock him out.

"Fuck," Rhodey said, pushing off Tony and clawing at his shirt. Threat gone, Tony helped him sit up, desperate to find the wound. But under his shirt was...

No blood. No blood at all.

"No one ever said that _still_ hurts like hell," Rhodey grit out, taking off what had to be a bulletproof vest as Natasha helped ease him out of it.

"You'll live," Natasha said, her voice warm. Tony's heart nearly stopped as he saw where the bullet had dented the material, and he hugged Rhodey tightly as soon as the thing was off. "Good thing you both agreed to wear them," Natasha continued, then looked to Pepper. "Ms. Potts?"

"That was violent," Pepper said, sounding a little hysterical. "Who are you?"

"A friend," Natasha said simply, then she looked to Tony. She grinned, before putting a hand to her ear. "Fury, T'Challa, could use some clean up here. Threat neutralized, and we can take out target one."

"I'm okay," Rhodey protested as Tony pulled him closer, but he didn't resist. Pepper sat on the bed, blood drained from her face as Tony reached for her hand.

Tony barely held back as sob. His friends were safe. They were both okay.

Deputy-Director Fury burst into the door, gun drawn and single eye sweeping the room. There was a gash on his cheek, and Tony bit his lip as he wondered what had happened to T'Challa.

"Five down and..." Natasha paused, putting her hand on Fury's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nick. I know he was a friend."

Fury lowered his gun as he saw Pierce, closing his eye. "It's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

He shook his head after a moment, then looked up at the three of them on the bed, anger and grief neatly tucked away. "You kids okay?"

Rhodey was shirtless and essentially in Tony's lap because Tony was _not_ letting go of his best friend after that stunt, and Pepper looked five seconds away from fainting with one hand gripping Tony's painfully and the other wrapped white-knuckled around her taser He'd been tortured, thought Rhodey and Pepper were dead at various times, and gone through an awful Labyrinth that made no sense. Which is why he was surprised when the words "Yeah, we're good," fell out of his mouth.

Rhodey was laughing softly, resting his head against Tony's shoulder, thankfully not trying to move. Pepper leaned back against the pillows, muttering something about being done, even though Tony knew she totally wasn't if more bad guys burst through that door. T'Challa had come in at some point, leaning against the doorway and looking tired, but no worse for any fighting that had happened. And Natasha was smiling at him, and yeah, he really was good.

Fury shook his head and chuckled lowly. "Welcome back, kid."

Tony closed his eyes and leaned back next to Pepper. There really was no place like home.

* * *

Tony stared at the mirror, looking at the light in his chest. With the help of Dr. Yinsen and Dr. Cho, Tony had fashioned a portable arc reactor that let him regain mobility. T'Challa had even let him have some real vibranium - not a lot, but enough to power his heart - when he heard Tony was going to use palladium for the core. He'd been working non-stop since then, much to Rhodey and Pepper's dismay, but he _had_ to fix the company and get it on the right track. Which meant managing the company after Obie's fall.

Tony splashed water on his face, shuddering. Obie hadn't gone down easy, but with Hydra down, it was easy to find the evidence against him. Apparently Deputy-Director Fury had taken care of that personally, which warmed Tony. He... hadn't wanted to look at Obie, not after all of that.

With Director Carter's SHIELD defense contracts keeping Stark Industries afloat during the reorganizing and all the things Tony and Pepper had to do to make him the legal owner of SI (she wouldn't take the company even though he knew she'd be a _much_ better CEO than Tony could ever be, but he'd convince her eventually), Tony barely had any time for his own side project.

But it was done now, and there was a second one in the making for Rhodey. With a few adjustments, Pepper would also have one too. Sure, he hadn't exactly gotten around to telling them that he had made several massively powerful suits of highly advanced armor for them yet, but they'd both love it. He knew they would.

Pepper might actually kill him, but again, he was pretty sure she'd come around eventually, especially since her boyfriend Happy was actually a pretty chill guy to hang out with. He'd support his girlfriend being even more badass.

Besides, high-tech gold-titanium alloy suits were _much_ cooler than bulky robots.

"Okay, test flight," Tony said, opening his eyes. He could do this. He could-

"Hey there, kitten," Natasha said.

Tony jumped, whipping around to see her. But no one was behind him. He hadn't seen Natasha or any of the others aside from T'Challa since Pierce had gone down, and he'd... he'd missed them. He'd even missed their crazy.

"Over here," Natasha said, and Tony turned back to the mirror. She waved at him from the other side, and he looked over his shoulder to see no tiny red-winged fairy even though she was clearly there in the mirror.

"I want you to know how creepy that is," he said, glaring at the mirror image.

"Noted," Natasha said, not looking the least bit put out. "We're cleaning out the last of Hydra now. Once we knew Pierce was behind it, we could start to root them out of SHIELD. We can't get all of the hidden bases, but we've made a start."

Tony nodded, wishing she were on his shoulder instead of in the mirror. "Thanks, honeybee," he said, wondering if he should try hacking SHIELD for more info. With his new suit, he wanted to take out a few of them himself. He wasn't ever going to be helpless again.

He opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away. He wanted to say he'd missed her and the others, but he didn't want to seem needy. He wanted to tell her about the suit, but didn't want her to tell him it was a stupid idea. He wanted...

"I guess this is good-bye then," Natasha said, looking away. "But should you need us... for any reason at all..."

"I..." Tony swallowed around the lump in his throat. Natasha fell silent as she waited for Tony to speak, which wasn't unnerving at all. This was _good-bye_ though, and he didn't want...

"I do need you," he said quietly, looking down. "I don't know why, but sometimes for no reason at all, I need you guys. And I miss you. That probably makes me weak and Dad would be having a fit right now but..."

Tony's breath caught and he felt more vulnerable than he had all the times he'd been helpless. "I need you guys," he admitted, because Rhodey and Pepper were _more_ than he really deserved, but he had gotten used to Natasha and the others being there. And when Rhodey told a joke, he wanted to see if Thor would laugh at it, or if Sam would agree with Pepper or encourage Tony's own brand of crazy. He had only known them for a short time, but Steve had promised him a _date_ and -

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

This time the voice did come from behind him, and Tony turned to see a full sized Natasha standing there flanked by Thor, Sam, Clint, Dr. Banner, Wanda and all the friends he'd made in the Labyrinth.

"You're not weak," Natasha said. "Not for admitting that. We've missed you t- oof!"

Tony honestly didn't care what his father would have thought. It was just the best thing in the world to throw his arms around Natasha and be hugged back.

"I made a better robot!" he said excitedly, pulling her along and grabbing Sam's hand too as he went. "Only it's not a robot, and it's so much cooler, and you should-" Tony stopped, remembering himself. He dropped their hands and stepped back, because Howard would have told him off by this point, yelling at Tony for wasting his time. "I... that is, if you want to see it?" he said awkwardly, looking down.

"I would like to see this great machine of yours," Thor said, and it was weird hearing that voice from a human body instead of a squirrel, but it fit that body more.

"I'm down for seeing the robot, but then I want to see this hot friend of yours Natasha keeps going on about," Sam announced. "See if he lives up to the hype."

Tony looked at Natasha, faintly disturbed. Sure, Rhodey was definitely hot and Tony had had a few fantasies back when they first met, but this was _Rhodey_. Whatever happened to the bro-code?

"You didn't tell me you had hot friends," Natasha said with a small smirk.

"Tony, what's all the noise down-" Rhodey said, stopping as he looked up to see a crowd of unfairly attractive people. Tony honestly didn't blame him for looking a little shell-shocked. He knew the feeling.

Sam and Natasha zeroed in on him like hunters stalking their prey. "I saw him first," Natasha warned, her voice low and deadly.

"Finders, keepers," Sam replied back cheerfully as they both moved towards Rhodey.

"Tony?" Rhodey said, looking slightly unnerved by the attention. "Who are these people?"

"Remember when I told you about the whole Goblin King and Labyrinth stuff?" Tony said, trying really hard _not_ to picture his best friend in the middle of Sam and Natasha. "These are them."

Rhodey's eyes got comically wide before he looked around again. "Oh," he said, as Sam stepped forward.

"So you're Rhodey. I've heard a lot about you," Sam said, a friendly smile on his face.

Natasha, on the other hand, had no problem taking Rhodey's arm and purring, "And I've admired you in action."

"Tony?" Rhodey said, taking a step back.

"Do you really _want_ me to stop them?" Tony asked. Because he would, if Rhodey said the word, but he knew Rhodey would regret that choice. "They're both friends, no worries."

Rhodey did not say the word, instead looking between the two of them with a slightly baffled expression. Considering Rhodey was wearing one of those ridiculous polo shirts that did nothing to hide his arms, Tony didn't blame them. It was cute how Rhodey didn't seem to realize he belonged in this room full of attractive people. Tony supposed it was due to being known as a nerd for so long, even before he joined the ROTC.

"Is he even bi?" Clint asked, shaking his head.

"Would _you_ say no to that double team?" Tony asked, causing Thor to laugh and clap his back.

"I do happen to be married, so yes," Clint said dryly.

"I wouldn't," Wanda said with a shy smile, and Tony wondered how old she was. She looked to be about his age, and her eyes were a little scary, but she had to be a decent person if she'd joined Steve's Goblin Brigade.

Speaking of Steve, Tony looked around, not seeing him. He hid the hurt at that, knowing that Kings had to be busy and probably wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with him. "Where's... Where's Steve?" he asked, the name imbued with a tentative longing he couldn't quite hide. Steve had been the one who'd asked him out after all.

"Steve can't come to the human world anymore," Clint said apologetically. "He'd be here if he could, but setting the Labyrinth to right made him too tired for even his owl form."

"Oh," Tony said, telling himself not to be too disappointed. "Can I go to see him then?"

"Not for a while yet," Thor said. "That world's magic still has a strong hold on you. Unless you want to become like the rest of our group and live in the Labyrinth, you must wait a few months for it to stabilize."

Tony looked at 'the group', noting the small differences that said they weren't quite human. The pointed ears and slightly unearthly eyes were a bit of a giveaway, even if Tony wouldn't have pegged Goblins to be that attractive. With Stark Industries still having so many problems, going AWOL to become a goblin was the last thing he needed. "Yeah, I'll pass," Tony said, sighing. He was supposed to wait _months_ for a date?

"Sam believes the reason Steve cannot come back to this world is that his body was never recovered," Wanda said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I don't know if that would help..."

No one had buried Steve? Tony would have scoffed at that being the reason, but with magic... Either way, it left him a little melancholy, thinking about Steve's body never being laid to rest. "Well, I can find it, even if that doesn't work," Tony said, making up his mind.

Thor and Wanda looked at each other before looking at Tony. "Steve does not speak of where he fell, to my knowledge," Thor said.

"The arctic," Wanda said, shaking her head. "I see it in his mind, sometimes. He went down in the ice."

"You can read minds?" Tony asked, a little unnerved.

"I try not to pry," Wanda said.

"Well, if we can find out where Steve went down, then maybe we don't have to sit through months of sulking," Clint said, rubbing his hands together.

"Is he really that bad?" Tony asked as the others winced.

"Worse."

"Right," Tony said, wondering what he had gotten himself into with this date. "Anyway, it can't hurt to try, right? I can start an expedition if you can get more specifics."

Wanda nodded, and Tony felt the beginning of excitement pulling at him. Between the suit and finding Steve, he could wait, couldn't he? Those cobalt eyes had captivated him too much to say no.

* * *

Several weeks later, Tony was living off of a deep sea research vessel he hadn't been aware Stark Industries owned, though he was glad they did. "Your father used it to find an important artifact that had been lost during World War II," Director Carter had explained.

Pepper was back home, helping with the transition now that Obadiah had been arrested, but Rhodey had tagged along, and so had T'Challa, much to Tony's surprise. Being King probably didn't allow him a lot of free time, but Tony was getting the feeling SHIELD wasn't as sure about Hydra being wiped out as much as they kept trying to assure him. T'Challa was very interested in the science side of things as well, which helped a lot when retrofitting the old ship with newer technology.

Plus, Tony _liked_ T'Challa a lot. Between him and Rhodey, Tony's suits of armor were going to be _amazing_. The science was currently blowing his mind.

Speaking of the suits, flying was the single best thing Tony had ever done. He let out a whoop of joy when he barrel rolled through the icy landscape.

"Would you stay focused?" Rhodey asked to his left, flying alongside him. Rhodey had refused to let Tony do his paint job, so unlike Tony's red and gold sexy beast, Rhodey's suit was a boring gunmetal grey.

"Like you weren't doing just as many tricks-" Tony started to say.

"Any sign of him?" T'Challa interrupted over the com. He had been flying alongside them in a Wakandan jet that Rhodey was drooling after, but this was the sixth day of their search and he'd decided it was better to save fuel than try to follow the aerial antics of teenagers.

"Not yet," Rhodey replied. "You sure this tracker will pick him up? I mean, vibranium is pretty rare. Why would a soldier have some on him?"

"No one told you?" T'Challa asked.

"Told us what?" Tony replied.

Before T'Challa could respond, Tony got a blip from his tracker. "I found something!" he said, his heart starting to race. He wasn't sure how to feel about finding the body of his sort of boyfriend, but it wasn't like Steve was really _dead_. This might just be a way to allow him to visit.

Magic sucked.

He banked to the left, flying over an icy peak. There was a snow covered clearing that Tony landed in, following the blip in his radar on foot. Rhodey landed next to him, the sleek grey armor gleaming in the sun. "You know it's weird that we're digging up the body of your semi-dead Goblin boyfriend, right?" he asked, voicing Tony's earlier thoughts as he flipped up the faceplate.

"Not technically my boyfriend, and not the weirdest thing that's happened," Tony said, because he still remembered those creepy hands in the walls. He stopped when they reached the loudest beep and awkwardly knelt down in snow and started to dig. "What were you saying, T'Challa?"

"You'll see soon enough," T'Challa said, sounding far more entertained than he had any right to be. Tony was starting to worry about what he'd find down there.

His gauntlets hit metal, and he looked up to see an equally confused Rhodey. Then Rhodey shrugged as the faceplate flipped down again, and Tony made a mental note to make the armor move smoother for that gesture.

After an hour, they had cleared off enough of the snow to realize they were uncovering a plane, and not one Tony had ever seen before. And Tony knew a _lot_ about planes, both old and new. It was massive, whatever it was.

"Where would Steve have been when this went down?" Tony asked.

"In the cockpit," T'Challa replied thoughtfully. He had joined them at the site when they confirmed they had found something, and Tony had to wonder if his Black Panther suit was insulated against the cold.

"Which is probably that way," Rhodey said, gesturing to the left. "A plane this big, we're probably still working on the body of it."

Tony popped open a compartment on his wrist, taking out the small weapon. "Let's bring the soldier home then," Tony said, starting the small but powerful red laser.

He ended up needing to use Rhodey's too once his ran out of juice. Pity the the lasers only had a one-time usage. Still, they got the job done, and that was what mattered. Now they had a way to get into the plane.

Tony looked down into the hole he'd created, the arc reactor in his chest shedding enough light to see into the darkened plane. It looked like some kind of firefight had happened, but his suit didn't pick up the ghosts of the past that caused the hair on his arms to stand up.

Tony dropped down into the hole, looking around cautiously as Rhodey and T'Challa followed him down.

"Creepy," Rhodey said.

"You're telling me," Tony muttered, turning so that his arc reactor showed more of the plane.

"The cockpit should be that way," Rhodey said, and Tony nodded, carefully stepping over a bent railing.

"Didn't realize Steve went down in a plane this big," Tony said, something about it pinging his memory. History had never been his strong point.

"This looks like German design, but I've never seen anything like it," Rhodey said as they walked.

"They say he was on an enemy plane when it was brought down," T'Challa said, the suit remaining impassive as he held up a hand to the side of the plane.

"Huh," Rhodey said, looking around. "Just tell me we're reverse engineering this baby."

"We are definitely reverse engineering this lady," Tony replied with a grin. Finders, keepers. Director Carter could have the plane _after_ he was through with it. Even seventy years behind the times, something like this could tell Tony a lot. "So how did the Germans get so advanced anyway?"

"If you hadn't slept through history, you'd know the Germans had some kind of mastermind behind it. Zola and Schmidt something. Not much is known about them though," Rhodey said, shaking his head. "Half the propaganda makes the U.S. out to be better regardless, but this is way past what we had in World War II."

"They were the founders of Hydra," T'Challa said. "I would be careful of what you find down here."

Tony's blood ran cold. Yeah, maybe he _should_ have paid more attention to history.

He caught sight of a corpse lying on the walk way, and Tony swallowed. "So Steve probably looks like that now?" he asked around the lump in his throat. "How will we know which body was his?"

"You will know," T'Challa said sadly as he and Rhodey pushed open the door to the cockpit. "His uniform was... hard to mistake."

"U.S. uniforms weren't that different from now, were they?" Tony asked as his arc reactor lit up the room. The far end of it was covered in ice. It was what he saw encased in the ice that nearly stopped his already poor heart. "Rhodey?" he asked, his voice wavering.

"What happened?" T'Challa demanded sharply from behind them.

"That's..." Rhodey said, awe in his voice as he stepped aside for T'Challa to see. "That's Captain America's shield. What the fuck, Tony! You didn't tell me you were dating a dead Captain America!"

"I didn't know?"

"How did you not recognize him?" Rhodey asked. "I _know_ you read the comics as a kid."

"I just - he looked different! All spikey hair and more goblin-y." He had _thought_ Steve looked vaguely familiar, but one doesn't connect a childhood hero to a guy who was practically _stalking_ you.

"Boys," T'Challa admonished, walking towards the ice. He leaned down and brushed away some of the snow to show the shield more clearly.

"We're okay," Rhodey said as Tony sank to the floor. "Well, Tony looks like he's going into shock, but he'll pull through."

He glared at Rhodey, not that his best friend could see it through the armor.

T'Challa held a small device up to the ice. "I'm pulling up the readings now. According to this, Steve's body should still be intact due to the ice. He is..."

"T'Challa?" Tony asked, bringing the data up on the HUD for himself.

"Damn," Rhodey said just as Tony saw it too. "He's still warm? How is that possible? I mean, he should be the same temperature as the ice, right?"

They all heard it, the soft beat from their instruments. Tony held his breath, waiting to see if it was a mistake. It _had_ to be. He pulled up Rhodey and T'Challa's vitals as he did, listening to their heartbeats through the armor's internal speakers. This was the real world and magic didn't work here, right? So how...

They waited in silence, none of them daring to move. Tony was just about to give up when they heard it again.

"Was that a _heartbeat_?" Rhodey whispered.

"He's still alive," Tony said. "That's why he couldn't come back to this world. He wasn't actually _dead_ yet and his body can't be in two places at once."

"I'll head back to the ship," T'Challa said, pulling away from the ice, though he didn't turn away. "I will bring equipment to extract him from the plane. Are you going to wait here?"

"Yeah," Tony said, not moving from his place on the floor. "I'm not... I don't want to leave him alone."

"I'll stay with Tony," Rhodey volunteered, which Tony didn't need, really, but he appreciated, because yeah, maybe he really did.

T'Challa stopped by where Tony was sitting, leaning down to touch his shoulder briefly. Tony couldn't feel it, but he appreciated the sentiment. "Guard him well," he said as he left.

"Okay then," Tony said as Rhodey raised his faceplate. He came over and sat next to Tony, knocking on his helmet.

Tony lifted his own faceplate, ignoring the biting cold as Rhodey smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Pepper is going to freak when she finds out you're dating Captain America," Rhodey said, smile turning into a smug grin.

"I'm not - we're not dating." Yet. Maybe. A date was not dating, but Tony felt the heat rising to his cheeks despite the cold.

"Uh-huh," Rhodey said. "You made out with him though, right?"

Tony _had_ made out with Captain America. Damn. "You made out with _both_ Sam and Natasha!" Tony fired back.

At least Rhodey was blushing now too. He was pretty sure that sub-zero temperatures were not what the saying meant about revenge being a dish best served cold, but he wasn't letting Rhodey forget to put a sock on the door handle at his dorm room ever again.

* * *

Fury won the argument with T'Challa about defrosting Captain America in the States rather than Wakanda, mostly because Tony wasn't going to leave Steve, Rhodey wasn't going to leave Tony, and Pepper was not going to be left behind this time. With the addition of the Goblins, the group was deemed too large to visit the notoriously isolationist country all at one time.

Which was too bad, really, because Tony really wanted to visit Wakanda if just to get a better look at some of T'Challa's tech because _wow_ , but that could wait.

And that was what he was doing - waiting. They were bringing Steve's body temperature up slowly, and Tony really hadn't left Steve's side since the thawing started, other than for a quick video conference with the board of directors to show he was still alive. It was a long wait, but Tony was catching up on the defense contracts and history (Rhodey had a point about the fact that not recognizing Steve was flat out _embarrassing_ ) while sleeping beauty slept on. Once again, a kiss wasn't going to be very helpful, so it was just... waiting.

At least he was fairly occupied with the schematics for a new jet engine; he barely noticed the time. In fact, he was so involved with it that he completely missed the sharp movement as Steve woke up, along with the suspicion on his face.

He didn't miss his tablet dropping to the floor as his arm was yanked around behind his back. "Ow, fuck. Steve, what the hell? Natasha!"

There was a flash of red wings and Natasha was in front of him, normal-sized. She took one look at the situation and motioned for Tony to stay still. It was only thanks to the sparring lessons she'd been giving him that Tony wasn't panicked due to being held down.

"Steve," she said gently. "You're safe here. It's me, Natasha, and that's Tony, remember? I need you to let go of Tony before you hurt him."

"You..." Steve said, his Brooklyn accent surprisingly thick for only having said one word. "Tony?"

"Yes, Tony," Natasha said as Tony held himself still. "You should let him go."

Abruptly, Tony _was_ let go. Natasha pulled him away as he stumbled, putting herself between him and Steve. He nodded at the questioning look she sent, then huffed when she checked his shoulder for injuries anyway. Finally, she turned back to Steve, who had sat down on the bed and looking pretty dazed and confused for a guy who had known they had found his body.

"Sorry," Steve said, running a hand through his deliciously 40s style hair. Tony had been fond of the spikey look, but he could get used to this one if Steve wanted to keep it. "I... my head's a mess. It's hard to think with all the... The other memories are taking a while to filter through."

Tony dismissed all of that ramble as 'Magic making no fucking sense' and waved Steve's apology off. Natasha didn't seem fazed either, but she looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?" she asked.

He had a feeling she wasn’t asking if he was hurt. Did he want to be left alone with Steve? That was his reason for hanging around and insisting to Rhodey that he was okay by himself, but now that the moment was here, Tony could admit to having wet feet.

Still he nodded, and he gave her a hug that was starting to feel almost natural. "Thanks, Sugar Plum."

He held her tightly, and Natasha hugged him back. "You can call me any time, kitten," she replied, before turning back to Steve. "How about the relic from the Smithsonian? You gonna pull through, old man?"

Steve sent her a deeply unimpressed look, but he melted a little when Natasha hugged him. "Welcome back, soldier," she said.

"Thanks," Steve said, looking around. He still hadn't lost the dazed expression.

Kissing him on the cheek, Natasha straightened up. "Then I'll go let the others know you're awake," she said. 

Before she moved away, Tony reached for her hand, slipping his fingers through hers. She smiled encouragingly, then ruffled his hair. "You'll do fine," she whispered, giving his hand a final squeeze. Then she smiled wickedly. "Now I've got an airman to catch. I'll see you two later."

Tony shook his head. "I don't know how Rhodey keeps up with the two of them," he said, because there was stamina, then there was the sheer amount of booty calls both Natasha and Sam seemed to like giving, and it wasn't quite fair how often Rhodey was looking blissed out after make out sessions when Tony hadn't even gotten his date yet.

"They're certainly enthusiastic," Steve said with a snort.

Beyond that, Tony really didn't know what to say to his maybe-date, definitely real-life Captain America once they were alone. "So, uh, we have the internet now?"

"I know what the internet is, Tony," Steve said, slightly exasperated. "I was frozen, not dead."

"Oh," Tony said, because of course Steve did. It wasn't like he'd been _sleeping_ for the past 70 years, merely unable to do much in this world.

The problem was there was no textbook on how to talk to a guy that you liked, who was also a Goblin King that had stalked you for your own protection. Who was also Captain America. Tony could have really used one of those books right now.

"You didn't tell me it would be so _long_ before I could see you again," Tony said, annoyance he hadn't intended slipping into his tone.

"Sorry, I meant..." Steve said, running a hand through his ridiculously perfect hair again in what Tony was beginning to suspect was a nervous tick. "To look in, occasionally. I didn't expect you to wait. Or to... Well, thank you for finding me."

That was even more ridiculous and infuriating, and Tony didn't have words for how he felt. "You should try being _clearer_ next time," Tony said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring. "And we need a long talk about those stalking tendencies."

Steve winced. "You're right. I should have... I'm sorry."

Tony wasn't ready to forgive that, not just yet. Not after everything. But at the same time, he couldn't resist the blue of Steve's eyes that were begging for him to accept the apology. Instead, he reached over and grabbed Steve's collar, claiming his lips in a quick motion that caught Steve off guard. He didn't need to forgive to kiss.

It wasn't long before Steve responded, however, and now Tony was biting back a groan. Tony wasn't entirely sure whether Steve was a Goblin King or a Kissing King, because damn, that tongue.

Tony pulled away this time, needing to breathe. "Am _I_ clear?" he asked breathlessly.

"Crystal," Steve said, grinning like Tony had just given him the best gift in the world.

Tony had so much more to say. He wanted to ask why Steve had attacked his window the night of the funeral, why Steve had fallen for someone like Tony of all people, why he hadn't mentioned being Captain America, and why...

Just why.

But those lips looked so inviting, and Tony knew happiness wasn't something he had often. Even less often were the times he had given happiness to someone else, despite his best efforts. This was _his_ if he wanted to take it, and he did want it. So much.

And even if this didn't work out, he had Rhodey and Natasha, Pepper and Sam, and T'Challa and everyone else too. He had friends. So many that Tony was almost overwhelmed by the number. And he had the suit, which meant he could _fight_ , even though he was only human.

"So," Tony said, a smile growing despite his best attempts to stop it. "Deputy Director Fury says there's this thing called the Avengers."

Steve laughed, and Tony felt warmer at the sound. Almost heady. "If you're sure, you and your team could join. But _after_ Nick trains you," Steve replied.

The weapons his family made had hurt people. But now he was going to do _good_ , turning the company around to focus on green energy. With the suits, Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper could make a difference in other ways too. "Okay," Tony said. "Let's save the world."

"Yeah," Steve said, his smile refusing to dim even a fraction as he pulled Tony onto the bed beside him. "That sounds swell."

~Fin~

**Author's Note:**

> Mem: And there you have it. Once again, if you disregarded the warnings and want to wank about either Loki not getting enough hugs in this fic, or Barton Fam being canon, then please just do it elsewhere. However, if there's something legit I missed tagging for (I think I got all of them, but I nearly forgot the drugged up amnesia peach), please do let me know and I will update tags/warnings.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! I'll admit, I really kind of hate this fic, because I've never been good with AUs, but I'm glad it's finally done with. And for all the trouble it gave me, I do have some fantastically amazing art from TowerOawesome that you can find [right over here](http://toweroawesome.deviantart.com/gallery/60845818/The-Way-You-Turn-My-World-Art). Please check it out and leave them some nice comments!
> 
> Basically, this was the Labyrinth AU no one asked for, but you're getting anyway. It started off with a replay of an old school Final Fantasy game, where I was fighting a "Cap Goblin" and devolved from there to have Steve as the Goblin King, Natasha as a badass fairy, Thor as Sir Didymous, Hulk as Ludo, Clint as a mind-controlled Hoggle, Sam as a shape-shifting falcon, T'Challa as a general badass, and well, Tony Stark in that vest and hating magic. XD All of this with Hydra and Obadiah Stane going on, so it ended up quite long. 
> 
> Thanks again for sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed the fic!
> 
> Quote of the fic:  
> "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great. ... My kingdom is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great. Damn, I can never remember that line. ... 'You have no power over me.'"  
> -Sara, _The Labyrinth_


End file.
